Myer has plunged to a first-half loss approaching $500 million -- its deepest loss ever in a history that dates back more than a century.

But chairman Garry Hounsell says the Myer board and management team have a plan in place to revive the fortunes of the famous retailer.

The struggling department store chain today reported a net loss of $476.2 million for the six months to January 27.

That compares with a net profit of $62.8 million in the same period a year earlier.

Mr Hounsell said the result was "unsatisfactory and reflected a number of execution issues including, for example, the failure to respond appropriately to the heightened competitive environment prior to Christmas".

Myer had now developed a blueprint to "re-engage our traditional customer base", he said.

Myer’s slump into the red came after the group cut the value it attaches to its brand by $515.3 million.

Camera Icon Myer chairman Garry Hounsell. Credit: Stuart McEvoy

It has also taken a $13.7 million hit for a continuing overhaul of its stores.

In a statement to the Australian stock exchange today, Myer said that setting aside such "one-off" costs, its underlying profit was $40.1 million.

That figure was in line with earlier projections for a tally between $37 million and $41 million, the group said.

Shares in the retailer jumped today in the wake of that revelation, up 1c, or 2.3 per cent, at 44c in afternoon trade.

But it comes as sales continue to slide, down 3.6 per cent during the first half compared with the same period a year earlier, to $1.72 billion.

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Mr Hounsell said in the statement that he had been "driving the management team to trade the business more aggressively".

"To achieve this, I have renewed the entire team’s focus on product, price and customer service. These are strongly endorsed by the Myer board," he said.

"The renewed focus on product, price and customer service is expected to re-engage our traditional customer base."

Myer’s $476.2 million loss is the deepest it has ever posted in a history that dates back to 1900.

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That was when the first Myer store was opened in Bendigo by founder Sidney Myer.

Mr Hounsell said today: "My ongoing engagement with customers, team members, supplier partners and external stakeholders has reinforced my view that Myer must regain its historic reputation for great value and customer service."

"The work on value is progressing well and with the right training, together with appropriate incentives and supported by technology, our team members can deliver on our customer service aims," he said.

The retailer last month parted ways with chief executive Richard Umbers and is hunting for a replacement.

It has come under intense pressure this decade as a string of foreign "fast fashion" chains pile into the Australian market.

Swedish chain Hennes & Mauritz, trading as H&M, Japan’s Uniqlo and Spanish group Zara are among the foreign interlopers now fiercely competing for customers with Myer.

The retailer is also the target of a fierce campaign for change by its biggest shareholder, Solomon Lew’s Premier Investments.

Premier is a supplier to Myer and also a competitor, owning chains Just Jeans, Jay Jays, Smiggle, Dotti-E, Portmans and Peter Alexander.

Mr Lew is lobbying to oust the entire Myer board and has named several potential replacement directors.

Among them is former Myer Grace Bros and Kmart managing director Terry McCartney.

Premier paid more than $100 million for its stake in Myer and, on paper, had lost more than $60 million on that investment.

- Herald Sun with AAP