From The Australian Solomon Lew welcomes Wilson onto Myer...

From The Australian

Solomon Lew welcomes Wilson onto Myer register, pushes back against criticism of board battle

By ELI GREENBLAT
SENIOR BUSINESS REPORTER
Billionaire retailer and rebel Myer shareholder Solomon Lew has welcomed corporate raider and value investor Geoff Wilson to the Myer share register following his grab for a 5.46 per cent in the struggling department store owner, but has pushed back against the veteran investor’s criticism of his public and bitter campaign to turf out the Myer board.
Mr Wilson secured his significant stake in Myer last week via his portfolio of listed investment companies such as WAM Capital and WAM Leaders, and immediately called on the recalcitrant Mr Lew to pull back from his public battle against the Myer board to allow Mr King the time and “clean air” he needs to turn around the loss-making Myer.
Mr Lew, who for more than a year has waged a blistering and savage battle against Myer chairman Garry Hounsell and his fellow directors, has provided some positive and supportive comments this morning on new Myer (MYR) chief executive John King and his recent operational and management shake-ups to drag the underperforming Myer back to profitable growth.
However, in a clear sign Mr Lew won’t let Mr Wilson’s arrival to the Myer saga or Mr King’s early wins temper his brutal criticism of the Myer board, Mr Lew has pushed ahead with his bruising commentary on Myer’s directors and management oversight.
“We welcome Mr Wilson to the Myer register and hope he has a more positive experience than ours. However, it seems as though Mr Wilson has somehow misconstrued our very direct communication with the market about Myer, because it has never been about which CEO and management team has been in place,’’ Mr Lew said this afternoon in a statement to The Australian.
“The target of all of our criticism to date has been Myer’s failed board of directors — they have misled shareholders and presided over significant value destruction and they must be held accountable to their shareholders.”
When Myer posted its full-year results last week, showing a record loss of $486m, Mr Lew slammed the Myer board as an “absolute disgrace” and sprayed the board and Mr Hounsell with a string of accusations over their poor leadership of the retailer.
Mr Wilson told The Weekend Australian that Mr King needed an opportunity to transform the business, free of the public battle being waged by Mr Lew. Mr Lew holds a 10.8 per cent stake in Myer though his ASX investment and retail vehicle Premier Investments.
“We have got a lot of respect for Solly (Lew) and for what he has done and achieved, and I think it is important that Solly and people give John time to let the company perform,’’ Mr Wilson said.
“There is no value in trying to destabilise the company for no benefit. I think it is very important that everyone gives him (Mr King) and new management time to perform and that will be over the next couple of years,’’ Mr Wilson said.
Mr Lew responded today to Mr Wilson’s call.
“I would be surprised if someone of Mr Wilson’s investment experience could support the Myer board given their appalling track record. I hope he comes to agree with Premier’s consistent position that Myer’s management team needs the guidance and oversight of a new set of directors who, unlike the incumbents, have strong retail and commercial experience.”
Mr Lew said he hadn’t met yet with Mr King but welcomed his recent changes to the Myer group including taking direct control of sass & bide from Myer director Julie Ann Morrison, as revealed in today’s The Australian, and deciding to close down Myer’s clearance floors.
Mr Lew suggested Mr King was ignoring his own board when acting, which was a good thing.
“While I am yet to meet with the new Myer management, I understand that Mr King has a hard task ahead. I note Mr King has begun to address some of the issues which I have called out over the past year, including seizing control of sass & bide from Ms Morrison, closing the disastrous clearance floors, and ending the process of reckless discounting.
“Mr King appears to be ignoring his own board in making these decisions because they are all initiatives that his chairman and the rest of the failed directors have clung to in spite of all the evidence against them. These are important first steps, but there is a long way to go and rebuilding Myer is not for the faint hearted. It requires both capital and strong leadership at the board level — unfortunately for Mr King, both of these things are in short supply at Myer.
“I hope Mr Wilson will join me in fixing the Myer board so Mr King and his team can succeed.”