Solomon Lew claims “the consumer is somewhat out of control” at the moment, but the Premier Investments chairman is also bucking trends – committing to opening dozens of new brick-and-mortar stores.

Through Premier, Lew bought up shares in the likes of Breville and Myer when both Australian-born companies were in the throes of an economic downswing.

Now, he is planning to open over thirty new physical outlets for retail design brand Smiggle, as well as striking wholesale deals to expand its footprint from 350 stores to over 800.

“The core business is in great shape, and now we’re ready to put the foot down,” Premier CEO Richard Murray told the AFR.

Premier has also expanded its digital footprint, with a new online feature that allows uses to shop across Premier’s seven retail brands — the likes of Peter Alexander, Smiggle, Just Jeans, and Portmans –using the same POS cart – with a new payment system coming soon.

It seems a smart move for the company, although Lew admitted to the AFR he is baffled by the continued spending, despite inflation and strained budgets.

“I think the consumer is somewhat out of control,” he said.

“They’re used to shopping, they’ve got used to going out to restaurants, got used to spending money.

“I grew up in a very conservative home. And if you didn’t have it, you didn’t spend it. But today people are earning a lot more money, lifestyles have changed and they spend on what they require.”

Premier posted record sales and revenue for the six months to the end of January, with sales leaping 17.6 per cent across the group to hit $905 million – with EBIT up 12.2 per cent to $220 million.