Myer will shut the majority of its Sass & Bide boutiques as part of a major overhaul, bringing the storied fashion label exclusively into its department stores ahead of a proposed merger with apparel brands owned by Solomon Lew’s Premier Investments.

Sass & Bide was founded in 1999 by Sarah-Jane Clarke and Heidi Middleton. Myer paid $42.3 million to purchase a controlling stake in 2011 before buying the remainder. The department store scrapped plans to sell the Sass & Bide business after this year’s appointment of its new executive chairman, former Qantas executive Olivia Wirth.