Roger David announced it was closing down the business, with the loss of 500 jobs, after failing to find a buyer. Jobs will go at the outlet in the Bendigo Marketplace.

And yesterday the Australian Stock Exchange paused trading in Myer after reports that falling profits had failed to be properly reported. As The Age put it,  a report in the Australian Financial Review, “suggested that the decline in revenue was significant enough to trigger a fall in underlying earnings that would require Myer's board to issue a profit warning”.

Is another icon of Australian retail about to bite the dust, falling foul of our change in shopping habits?

Bendigo is home to Myer store No 1, something we are rightly proud of. But bricks and mortar outlets are struggling. In Myer’s case it’s online arm, like so many, is competing with a retail scene awash with players. And not just Australian.

Roger David was also a victim of changing times, its client base eroded by “ fierce competition from online and global competitors and cautious consumer demand”.

Shoppers are fickle. Loyalty to a shop has given way to the quest for the cheapest option. Price matching is common, as are price-comparison websites. Why traipse around the stores when you can buy with a click, from anywhere in the world? 

But by not shopping locally you hurt local retailers – often with bricks-and-mortar and online operations –  who employ local people, who spend locally, who support local craftspeople, artisans, farmers and bakers. Who are our friends and neighbours.

The retailers who run the very kinds of stores we like to potter in on our time off,  where you might find something unique, not cookie-cutter. The stores that help keep our cities and towns vibrant. 

There will be many locals in retail facing a bleak festive season, uncertain if they will have jobs going into the New Year. 

This Christmas consider whether the few extra dollars you save buying gifts online from a business outside of central Victoria would be better spent with one inside it.

Do you have something to say on this issue? Send us a letter to the editor Letters must carry the name, full address and  telephone number of the author. The writer’s name and suburb/town will be published. We reserve the right to edit letters. Letters which are deemed inappropriate will not be published.Send letters to Bendigo Advertiser, PO Box 61, Bendigo 3552 or at bendigoadvertiser.com.au

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