John Johnston first took a job at the home-grown vacuum cleaner chain Godfreys before World War II had broken out.
On Monday, he offered to buy it.
Mr Johnston said he wanted to give Godfreys the best chance of reviving its fortunes.Credit: Rob Carew
Mr Johnston, aged 99, lobbed a 32¢ a share takeover bid for the company on Monday afternoon through his Arcade Finance investment vehicle - a premium of 10¢ to Godfreys closing price on Friday of 22¢.
Godfreys, which has about 220 stores across the Australia and New Zealand, floated on the ASX at $2.75 per share in 2014 but has been hammered from competition by the likes of JB Hi-Fi and Harvey Norman.
"I co-founded Godfreys with Godfrey Cohen in the 1930s," Mr Johnston said in a letter to Godfreys shareholders.
"Since then I have been a strong supporter of Godfreys. This offer is a highly attractive one and represents compelling value."
Mr Johnston said the offer was "particularly attractive" in light of Godfrey's long-term share price decline, its 2018 first-half results (a $58.6 million net loss, driven by a $75 million write down), debt levels and the suspension of evaporation of dividend payments.
"Arcade proposes to remove Godfreys from the ASX official list upon acquisition to give Godfreys the best opportunity to restore its value and restore the confidence of its employees, franchises and suppliers with respect to its performance," he said.
Mr Johnston's investment vehicle Arcade already has 28 per cent of Godfreys shares.
The retail investor, who turns 100 later this year, also owns major stakes in the Shaver Shop chain and the Munro Footwear Group, which owns brands including Williams, Mathers, Colorado and Diana Ferrari.
Mr Johnston has previously told Fairfax Media he joined Godfreys as a partner in 1936.
Godfreys’ total sales were down almost 9 per cent in the half-year to December 29, with same-store sales down 6.2 per cent.
Underlying net profit after tax - which excludes the $75 million write down to intangibles and other assets - fell 62 per cent to $900,000.