Execs Quit Solomon Lew’s Just Group Ahead of Myer Deal
As Solomon Lew’s Premier Investments contemplates a sale of its Just Group fashion and apparel brands to Myer, several of Just Group’s executives have resigned.
Just Group which owns fashion brands Portmans, Just Jeans, Dotti, Jacqui E and Jay Jays, has lost four property executives.
Simon Day, general manager for leasing at the group, has accepted a role at home furnishings retailer Adairs, according to The Australian.
Chad Moussi and Andrew Lucas, both general managers for leasing, as well as Daniel Mercieca, a general manager for finance, retail and procurement will be exiting.
Just Group general manager of people and culture Louise Bilston has also departed, and has now begun a new role at Forever New.
Other departures include Dotti boss Deanna Moylan and Just Jeans head of product Louise Donnegan, head of Just Jeans Matt McCormack, head of Portmans Jade Wyatt and head of Jay Jays Linda Whitehead.
Smiggle, the kids stationery chain under Premier Investments, has also lost its chief executive John Cheston who was sacked after the company alleged Cheston had “engaged in serious misconduct and a serious breach of his employment terms”. Details of the misconduct have not been revealed.
At Premier Investments’ full-year results presentation in September, Lew who is the company’s chairman claimed that the retailer experienced very little staff turnover or loss of executives to rivals.
“At head office, we employ 650 team members, and I can honestly say we hardly lose any staff to competitors. There are instances where people move on or they move to the country or interstate, but it’s really rare,” said Lew.
A churn of executives at Premier Investments comes at a time when there is similar movement of top executives at Myer.
Olivia Wirth told staff at Myer recently that new roles had been created within the company including general manager merchandise for beauty, accessories and services and a general merchandise manager for women’s apparel, as well general manager for digital commerce. While Wirth has poached staff from her former employer Qantas to come onboard take leading positions in the company she now leads, it has also resulted in the exit of a number of Myer veterans some of whom have been at the retailer for almost four decades.
The combination of Myer with Premier’s Apparel Brands business was proposed via an all-scrip merger earlier this year.
It involves Myer buying brands such as Portmans, Just Jeans and Dotti from Solomon Lew’s Premier Investments, and taking on more than 700 stores.
Lew has a 31 per cent stake in Myer and has for years been inching towards acquiring a controlling stake by gradually increasing his share of the upscale department store chain.
If the latest proposed deal does go through, Lew would join the Myer board, where Premier already holds two seats.