The largest shareholder for Myer, Solomon Lew, and former boss of Premier Investments empire Mark McInnes with speculation that a topic of discussion could be the departure of the Myer CEO.
Mr. Lew controls 25.8% of Myer and will potentially play a role in choosing the next CEO. John King, current boss, will be retiring at the end of next year and return to Florida with his family after steering Myer from losses to record profitability throughout the last five years.
Former boss of David Jones, Mark McInnes stepped down from Premier Investments at the end of 2021, and is now looking for his next retail role, after serving out most of his non-compete clauses under arrangements with Mr. Lew.
The meeting took place last Thursday in Armadale, Melbourne. The two were seen dining together for a few hours and leaving together.
Myer was discussed, with the Lew camp concerned about a sharp downturn in consumer spending and an oncoming retail slump caused by rapid interest rate hikes.
Premier Investments has a large portfolio consisting of Just Jeans, Portmans, Peter Alexander, Dotti, and Smiggle, and also holds 25.8% of Myer stake.
There are beliefs the two discussed the future of Myer and the broader retail sector.
Mr Lew has been known to have been fighting a long battle against the Myer board.
There are beliefs no offers were made, or jobs sought, but that Mr McInnes would be a very strong candidate.
Mr Lew has a nominee on the Myer board, Terence McCartney, but as he doesn’t sit on the remuneration or nomination committees, it is unlikely he will have a say in who the next CEO is.
Mr Lew, could also creep provisions to build stake by 3% every six months, meaning by the time Mr King exits, he could control a third of Myer.
If he has over 33%, it would allow him to replace the current chairman JoAnne Stephenson.
He could also call an extraordinary general meeting next year to replace the board.
Mr McInnes has also been fielding offers and invitations from other billionaires, funds management, listed companies, and private equities.
