It was the Solomon Lew play that drove Myer executives up the wall. The billionaire retailer would spend his weekends walking the floors of the department store, scrutinising the merchandise. In one scathing assessment, he suggested the clothes on display belonged at the Salvation Army.

Lew had sat on the board of Coles Myer, which owned the department store, until 2002 when he was unceremoniously evicted by shareholders. When he left, he privately vowed he would have the last laugh.