Myer woes: Yet another director leaves Sass & Bide

The churn within the boardroom of Myer-owned fashion label Sass & Bide is showing no signs of slowing.

Sass & Bide, once a hip fashion label, has failed to resonate with shoppers. Picture: AAP

The churn within the boardroom of Myer-owned fashion label Sass & Bide is showing no signs of slowing with director Gary Spreckley stepping down as the department store group prepares for the ­arrival of new CEO John King.

Mr Spreckley, a former chief financial officer and company secretary for fashion chain Specialty Fashion Group, also worked for the Apparel Group. Myer declined to comment on the reason for his departure and Mr Spreckley was unavailable for comment.

He also resigned as a director of Marcs and David Lawrence, the two failed labels Myer bought from administrators last year.

The troubled Sass & Bide, which has been struggling for years and in 2017 triggered impairments of $39 million on Myer’s full-year accounts, is one of the many fires Mr King will need to put out when he assumes his role at the retailer.

Sass & Bide, the once-hip fashion label founded by friends Sarah-Jane Clarke and Heidi Middleton, has failed to resonate with shoppers.

There has been a high rate of churn at the board since it was bought by Myer for a total of $72.5m — it first invested in the label in 2011 and then bought full control two years later — which has reflected the revolving door of senior executives at Myer.

Earlier this year, Myer CFO Grant Davenport left the Sass & Bide board when he resigned from Myer, with Mr Davenport at the time of his appointment to Sass & Bide replacing acting Myer CFO Tom Coleman. Others who have left the Sass & Bide board recently include former Myer executive Megan Foster, former Coca-Cola Amatil and Westfield executive Gary Williams and Myer’s ex-CEO Richard Umbers.

The remaining directors of Sass & Bide are Myer director and former Bulgari executive Julie Ann Morrison, Myer’s general manager of merchandise buying Karen Brewster, and Myer company secretary Richard Amos.

Most damaging to Sass & Bide was the eventual departure of its founders. In November 2013, Ms Clarke and Ms Middleton ­resigned as directors of the business empire they had created 14 years previously as Myer tightened its grip on the label. They later left the fashion house in 2014, taking with them — critics argue — the core DNA of the brand.

According to documents lodged with the corporate regulator, Sass & Bide recorded sales of $60.5m for the 12 months to July 27, 2013, up 18 per cent from revenue of $51.2m for 2012.

In 2009-10 Sass & Bide had sales of $37m. Between 2011 and 2013 Sass & Bide is estimated to have boosted sales by 45 per cent and profit by 112 per cent.

The fashion label’s accounts are not available, but in Myer’s annual report for 2017 it said sales for the year were $10.9m below the previous year’s, forcing Myer to book an impairment charge of $38.8m against the carrying value of the business.