Myer Melbourne is World’s Best New Department Store

Myer Melbourne was named this week as the world's best new department store in the 2011 Oracle World Retail Awards.

It was given the Store Design of the Year Award, Inside Retail reports. The award is contested by different retailers around the world and previous awardees include Topshop New York, Niketown London and American Girl Place.

It is the first time in the five-year history of Oracle World that an Australian retailer won a World Retail award, Myer Chief Executive Officer Bernie Brookes said.

"It is an incredible honour to have our flagship Myer Melbourne recognised as the Best in Retail Store Design. Four years ago our vision was to bring Australia and Melbourne a world-class department store. We felt we had delivered that for our customers, to now be recognised on an international stage is just tremendous," Inside Retail quoted Mr Brookes.

The $300-million Myer Melbourne updated the Old Dame, a century-old retailer, by consolidating two stores that spanned two city blocks into one modern retail outlet. It has nine floors, a central atrium void and stores that carry some of the most prestigious fashion brands in the world.

Its heritage façade has the renowned Myer Bourke St Window along with the Mural Hall, which was the city's premier ballroom and home to the Napier Wallace Murals.

"Every floor was designed with the customer in mind making sure we created a wonderful experience as they navigate through the store. Our flagship now delivers fashion, beauty, entertainment and lifestyle across nine state-of-the art levels with a breathtaking atrium and centerpiece escalator," Myer Group General Manager for Marketing and Brand Development Megan Foster told Inside Retail.

The Australian retailer beat Carrefour Planet, Venissieux/Alcobendas/Mont St Jean, Desigual in Barcelona, Disney Store in New York, eSpoir in Seoul and Tsvetnoy in Moscow.

The award is a piece of good news for Australia's battered retail industry. Even Mr Brookes does not see any immediate improvement in consumer confidence which he partly blamed to the fragile political environment which contributed to consumer woes.

He disclosed that sales during winter declined by up to 5 per cent, although he was a bit more optimistic about the coming Christmas sale. Like other Australian retailers, Myer is not relying just on its award-winning store to deliver revenues, but has forayed into online sales which Mr Brookes expects to account for 5 per cent of the retailer's income.