Christmas shoppers at the Tuggeranong Hyperdome were shocked yesterday by the announcement that one of the centre's big drawcards - Myer - will be shutting its doors there by May next year.
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Big W, JB Hi-Fi and Harris Scarfe are expected to fill the huge 13,000sqm space left by Myer over two levels at the Hyperdome.
![Myer abandons Hyperdome for Woden Myer abandons Hyperdome for Woden](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/silverstone-ct-migration/cc191965-4253-49e7-9284-7b8616c41b31.jpg/r0_0_729_486_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Myer also announced it would open a new store at Westfield Woden by the end of 2013, expected to be in a new building.
Westfield's only comment was: ''We have an agreement in place for Myer to come into Westfield Woden. However, at this stage we have not made any announcements about our plans for the centre in terms of how that will happen.''
There has been a Myer or its predecessor, Grace Bros, at the Tuggeranong Hyperdome since 1987.
Shopper Debbie Newman, of Banks, said she was ''really ticked off'' by the announcement.
''We never felt the need to go to Woden because everything was there,'' she said.
Her sister Janice Newman, of Gordon, said the replacement stores were offering more of the same and the departure of Myer left the Hyperdome without a department store.
''I have to use the bus and this was very convenient,'' she said.
Julie Mahn lives in Belconnen but shops at Tuggeranong because she works there.
''I just can't believe it,'' she said. ''I've been down here 20 years and watched it go from Grace Bros to Myer.''
But Val Brown, of Gordon, said the closure didn't matter to her because she did most of her shopping online.
A spokeswoman for Myer said it employed 70 staff at the Hyperdome, half of which were casual and the other half permanent full-time or part-time.
She said the company would redeploy the permanent staff to its stores at Belconnen and Civic but there were no guarantees on casual staff.
Shop Distributive and Allied Employees Association NSW/ACT branch secretary Gerard Dwyer said employees were very disappointed by the news.
The union would be working to ensure they worked in the same departments and on the same roster when they were redeployed.
''We'll be working with the company to try to secure redeployment for the casuals as well,'' he said.
The announcement of the closure comes after Myer's annual meeting last month in which the company spoke about a ''very challenging 2011'' and a fall in sales of 3.8per cent on the previous year.
The Myer spokeswoman said there were three factors in the company's decision not to renew its lease at the Hyperdome: the centre was an older building; Myer One loyalty card data showed Tuggeranong customers were also shopping at the Myer stores in the Canberra Centre and Belconnen; and Myer had plans to open the new Woden store.
The Tuggeranong store represented less than 1per cent of total group sales.
The spokeswoman said people were being drawn to the ''shiny, new'' refurbished Myer stores at the Canberra Centre and Belconnen.
She said Myer usually signed a lease for 20 to 25 years and it had declined to go with the Hyperdome.
Tuggeranong Community Council president Darryl Johnstone said there had been whispers about the closure of Myer for months.
''I'm shocked it's been announced so close to Christmas and I feel sorry for the people who work at Myer and I hope the company will do all it can to find them jobs,'' he said.
''At least the uncertainty is over and I understand that the Hyperdome has been planning to redevelop the area should Myer close.''
Myer is the only department store at the Hyperdome. When Myer opens at Westfield Woden, it will be in competition with David Jones.
But the spokeswoman said it was actually better to have a Myer and David Jones in the one location as customers to one store were likely to also visit the other.
The Leda Property Group, which owns the Hyperdome with the Centro Properties Group, has been working to revitalise the shopping centre with recent upgrades of the Coles and Woolworths supermarkets. The centre is managed by Colonial First State.
Hyperdome manager Pearse Coleman said the redevelopment of the Myer site should start early next year.
''[It] will position Hyperdome as the only shopping centre in the region to offer all three major discount department stores, Target, Big W and Kmart, under the one roof and will strengthen the centre's convenient community base retail offer,'' he said.
Harris Scarfe is already in the Hyperdome's home centre. Mr Pearse wouldn't comment on what might go there if Harris Scarfe moved into the Myer space.
Big W was expected to go upstairs and Harris Scarfe and JB Hi-Fi on the ground floor.