Solomon Lew rejects Myer’s peace offer, renews calls for director purge

Solomon Lew says he has nothing to gain dealing with the current board of Myer.

Myer’s biggest shareholder Solomon Lew has been calling for Myer’s board to be sacked for the past two years. Picture: Aaron Francis

Solomon Lew has rebuffed Myer’s peace offering of a seat on the board, saying he has “nothing to gain” from dealing with the department store’s directors.

Mr Lew’s Premier Investments increased its shareholding in Myer to 15.77 per cent on Monday and stepped up his calls for the entire board to be sacked.

Myer’s acting chairman JoAnne Stephenson attempted to placate Mr Lew on Wednesday, saying the company would offer Premier “appropriate representation” on its board.

But she warned that it would have to navigate “conflicts” between Mr Lew and his other investments, which include owning almost a third of appliance maker Breville, making Premier one of the biggest suppliers to Myer outside cosmetics.

Mr Lew issued a short statement on Thursday afternoon rebuffing Ms Stephenson’s overtures. He said since Premier became Myer’s biggest shareholder in 2017, $760m or 71 per cent of “shareholder wealth” had been “destroyed”.

“Since that time, Myer has had three chairmen, one executive chairman, two CEOs, numerous strategy launches and countless strategic reviews and re-launches. All the while their performance has consistently declined, disappointing their shareholders, customers and suppliers,” Mr Lew said.

“Premier has nothing to gain from spending time with the members of the current Myer board.

“The only thing Premier will accept from the current Myer board is the resignation of its three remaining non-executive directors.”

Mr Lew also took aim at Myer’s delay in appointing a permanent chairman, following former Garry Hounsell’s shock departure ahead of last year’s annual meeting.

“The failure to appoint a permanent chairman or any additional non-executive directors seems to indicate that no credible company director would accept an offer to work with the current Myer board.”

A Myer spokesman said: “Despite today’s comments from Premier Investments they have chosen to make another significant investment in Myer, so it can be safely assumed they see value in the company.

“The board stand at the ready to have a constructive dialogue with its largest shareholder. We remain of the view that constructive discussions are in the best interests of all shareholders and aggressive interactions will be a distraction for the business and potentially value-destructive.

“Our invitation to sit down with Premier Investments stands. We will not be distracted from the critical task of building value for all shareholders.”

Mr Lew’s latest attack comes as Myer battles the worst retail conditions in decades and the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic.

He has been calling for Myer’s board to be dumped for the past two years. His battle with the department store’s directors got so heated that Mr Lew accused Mr Hounsell of being a liar, almost leading to a legal dispute.

On Wednesday, Ms Stephenson called for an end to the “distraction” and supported management led by chief executive John King.

“We have the right team and are well-positioned to build on this to create value for all shareholders,” she said.

Ms Stephenson also said the company had an “articulated strategy” in its Customer First Plan, which was already “delivering positive results”.

“Our balance sheet has been strengthened through tighter inventory management and cash generation.

“We have improved our range of products, reduced space, significantly grown our online business, all while maintaining discipline over costs and capital expenditure.”

Myer share closed down 1.1 per cent on Thursday at 43.5c.