Top investor of Australian high-street retailer Myer raises stake

07 Jul '21

2 min read

Pic: Shutterstock

Premier Investments, a key investor in Australian high-street retailer Myer, recently announced acquiring an additional 41.1 million shares in the latter at $0.40 per share, giving it an overall effective stake of 15.77 per cent. Premier Investments chairman Solomon Lew said it is ‘bitterly disappointed’ by Myer’s performance, which ‘continues to be disastrous’.

“It’s now been more than eight months since then Myer chairman Garry Hounsell abruptly resigned on the morning of Myer’s 2020 AGM [annual general meeting] citing lack of key shareholder support for his re-election. On that day, Myer announced that Ms JoAnne Stephenson had been appointed acting chairman of Myer while a global search would be undertaken to find a replacement chairman,” Lew said in a statement.

“We are stunned that Premier has not heard from the acting chairman at any stage. Neither the acting chairman nor any of the remaining directors have bothered to pick up the phone to the company’s major shareholder about reconstituting Myer’s emaciated board, which is bereft of the retail experience, skills and talent required to turn the business around,” he said.

“In a market where innovative, experienced retailers are benefitting from rapid change, Myer continues to go backwards and its board is missing in action,“ he said.

“Premier calls on the failed Myer board to resign immediately. We will work with other shareholders to reconstitute the Myer board with directors who have expertise across retail, property, logistics and e-commerce so that Myer can reverse its decline,” Lew added.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)

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