A DECISION on whether to close or retain Albury's Myer emporium is unlikely to be made before next year.
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There has been uncertainty over the fate of the department store since May when The Border Mail reported its future was under review.
At the time it was flagged a decision would be made before year's end, but it is now expected to continue into 2016.
The situation has been complicated by the owner of the Myer Centrepoint complex, Pacific Shopping Centres, offering the site for sale.
It is understood a potential sale of the centre fell through due to doubt on the long term future of Myer on site.
A Myer representative said on Thursday "no decision" had been made about closing or retaining the Albury store which opened in 1982.
"As part of our New Myer strategy, we are focused on delivering a more productive and profitable store network, and as part of this we’re naturally having discussions with all landlords regarding our portfolios," the spokeswoman said.
"We have not announced any specific store closures and we will only do so when these decisions have been made, and key stakeholders including team members have been informed."
Closure or the reduction or increase of floorspace are being considered for Albury which occupies two levels.
Agent Colliers International had been given the task of seeking expressions of interest in the 17,670 square metre Myer Centrepoint with "a long term lease to the only Myer department store within 120 kilometres" mentioned.
Myer declined to confirm or deny that its lease runs for another 13 years as reported in the financial press.
Albury mayor Henk van de Ven said it "would be a shame" if Myer shut and noted it would come in spite of population rises.
"The area keeps growing, we've got pretty good growth figures on both sides of the border and it's continuing to grow," Cr van de Ven said.
"The question would be why are they are looking to leave when they've been a long-term business in town?
"Apart from David Jones we've got every major retailer that operates in Australia operating in this area.
"We've had ALDI give a vote of confidence by spending a significant amount of money building a new site in Wagga Road.
"If Myer were to decide to downsize or leave they would be going against the trend of what other retailers are doing in deciding to come to town."
