Myer is an upmarket Australian department store chain. It trades in all Australian states and one of Australia's two self-governing territories. Myer retails a broad range of products across women's, men's, and children's clothing, footwear and accessories; cosmetics and fragrance; homewares; electrical; connected home; furniture; toys; books and stationery; food and confectionery; and travel goods. Myer's primary department store rival is David Jones.
The Myer retail group was started by Sidney Myer, who migrated from Russia to Melbourne in 1899 after the height of Victoria's gold rush, with very little money and little knowledge of English to join his elder brother, Elcon Myer, who had left Russia two years earlier. They opened the first Myer store in Bendigo, Victoria in 1900. After prospering, they opened a second store in Bendigo in 1908. In 1920 Myer purchased adjoining properties, eventually building a store known as the Myer Emporium. The Myer Emporium grew with the purchase of the old established businesses of Robertson & Moffat and Stephens & Sons. In 1925, Myer Emporium Ltd was listed on the Melbourne Stock Exchange.
