Richard Murray to be given strong growth agenda as CEO of Premier Investments

Outgoing JB Hi-Fi boss Richard Murray says billionaire Solomon Lew sees plenty of growth potential at Premier Investments.

Premier Investments chairman Solomon Lew, left, with incoming CEO Richard Murray. Picture: Aaron Francis

Richard Murray, the outgoing chief executive of consumer electronics giant JB Hi-Fi, will be handed a strong growth agenda at Solomon Lew’s Premier Investments when he walks in the door as its new CEO next month and believes the fashion and investment conglomerate has plenty of potential ahead of it.

In an interview with Paul Zahra for the Australian Retail Association’s Retail Therapy podcast, Mr Murray also revealed he was called by Mr Lew to discuss where he wanted to take Premier Investments and Mr Murray’s position at JB Hi-Fi, with a deal later done to poach the well respected retail boss.

Mr Murray also joked with Mr Zahra, himself a former CEO of David Jones before becoming the head of the ARA, that in winning him over to lead Premier Investments, Mr Lew also got his wife, Jacqueline Blackwell, a savvy mystery shopper.

“As I said to Sol, you’re getting two for the price of one because you’re getting Jackie and … she’s been a massive supporter of mine,” Mr Murray said in the ARA podcast.

Mr Lew pulled off a corporate coup in April when he announced Mr Murray would leave JB Hi-Fi after 20 years to be the new CEO of Premier Retail, the fashion arm of Mr Lew’s $4.5bn Premier Investments, whose retail brands include Just Jeans, Portmans, Dotti, Peter Alexander and Smiggle. Premier also has a 15.77 per cent stake in department store Myer and a 27 per cent stake in kitchen appliances company Breville.

“Obviously working with Sol Lew is an exciting opportunity. So really to close one chapter at JB, which has been such an awesome part of my life, but also a new chapter – it’s really exciting,” Mr Murray said.

Mr Lew had met Mr Murray several times in the years before the approach.

“We had a chat about what he’s trying to achieve at Premier and where I was at at JB,” Mr Murray said on the podcast.

“I’ve basically done 10 years at Deloitte, not quite 20 years at JB. What did I want to do for the next decade?

“I thought it would be a good opportunity to try a different type of retail.”

Mr Murray said Mr Lew still saw plenty of growth opportunities ahead for Premier.

“If you think about what Premier Investments is, it is a business with an investment in Breville, it’s got an investment in Myer then it’s got these retail brands Peter Alexander, Smiggle the Just Group business. So we’ve got a lot of things happening in that business.”

Mr Murray will walk into Premier just as it ramps up its war against Myer and Mr Lew ­attempts to sweep out the Myer board of directors and replace them with his own nominees.