January 2024
Metcash appoints former JB Hi-Fi CEO to run tools franchise
Richard Murray abruptly left Solomon Lew’s Premier Investments in August and was previously chief executive at JB Hi-Fi. He starts at Total Tools this month.
From TVs to tools: retailer Richard Murray’s new gig turns heads
Richard Murray helped grow a tiny JB Hi-Fi into a flagship Australian retailer. His new employer Metcash hopes he can do the same in tools.
August 2023
Inside Solomon Lew’s dramatic shake-up
The shock departure of Premier Investments boss Richard Murray has set off a chain reaction inside the retail empire.
March 2023
Solomon Lew: The consumer is somewhat out of control
The retail billionaire says consumers aren’t slowing down, but he’s ready to take advantage of any downturn.
September 2022
Premier versus Myer is a one-sided fight
Solomon Lew, who continues to give department store owner Myer Holdings a masterclass in retailing, looks set to share his expertise with the Myer board. And that has got to be a good thing.
March 2022
Premier boss says inflation is like ‘Goldilocks’
Solomon Lew’s Premier Retail unveiled a record interim dividend after a double-digit climb in sales from pyjama brand Peter Alexander.
Even Solomon Lew gets the petrol bowser blues
Billionaire retailer Solomon Lew has experienced his own form of fuel “bill shock” but believes Australian consumers can navigate rising inflation.
December 2021
Richard Murray finds Solomon Lew a kindred spirit
It’s the similarities between JB Hi-Fi and Premier Investments that have most struck the latter’s new CEO.
Morrison and JobKeeper saved Australia: Solomon Lew
The billionaire retailer and his chief executive have thrown their support behind the Morrison government being re-elected, claiming they ‘saved Australia’.
September 2021
How Solly Lew beat Amazon
Premier Investments is a case study in the creation of a highly tuned retail business with huge growth opportunities from taking famous local brands to international markets.
August 2021
JB Hi-Fi sales soften after bumper year
JB Hi-Fi reported its eighth consecutive year of record profits but, with 55 per cent of stores currently closed, sales in the new financial year to date have taken a hit.
July 2021
JB Hi-Fi profit soars as consumers shift from WFH to entertainment
Demand for headphones, audio visual equipment and gaming consoles fuelled record sales and profits at JB Hi-Fi but lockdowns might dent growth in early 2022.
May 2021
Lew’s Premier under scrutiny despite repaying $15.6m in JobKeeper
Solomon Lew faces new pressure to repay more than $100 million in JobKeeper subsidies despite agreeing to refund $15.6 million received in the January half.
April 2021
Richard Murray leaves JB Hi-Fi in good hands
The Good Guys acquisition was Richard Murray’s signature deal at JB Hi-Fi and its pandemic performance ‘incredible’, but maintaining the retailer’s unique culture was perhaps his biggest achievement.
How Solomon Lew landed Richard Murray
When Mark McInnes announced his departure from Premier Investments, there was only one person Solomon Lew wanted for the job: JB Hi-Fi’s Richard Murray.
February 2021
What JB Hi-Fi didn’t learn from the virus
JB Hi-Fi boss Richard Murray insists there’s nothing special in how the retailer has soared through the pandemic. But there is.
October 2020
Dion Hershan buys JB Hi-Fi boss' Toorak mansion for less than asking price
The Yarra Capital Management MD is understood to have paid below the asking range for Richard Murray's luxury seven-bedroom home in Melbourne's most expensive suburb.
June 2020
How tape and empty TV boxes helped JB Hi-Fi thrive
What's most impressive about JB Hi-Fi's pandemic performance is its ability to protect its profitability in the face of rising costs.
May 2020
JB Hi-Fi boss sees return to shopping local
Sales in the third quarter gained strongly in both JB Hi-Fi Australia and The Good Guys as customers geared up for working from home.
February 2020
The (not so) secret to JB Hi-Fi's success
A simple strategy lies behind JB Hi-Fi's remarkable run of profit growth every year bar one since 2003 that has made it the seventh-largest electronics retailer in the world.