Premium appliance retailer Winning Group has thrown its support behind controversial new chief executive Anthony Heraghty, despite Australia’s corporate regulator launching civil proceedings alleging the former Super Retail Group boss breached his directors’ duties and provided misleading information to his former board and the market.

The move comes at an awkward time for Winning, which is attempting to transform a business whose recent profitability has been weak while positioning itself for expansion and a potential future float.

Winning Group appointed Heraghty in August, making him the first chief executive from outside the Winning family in the retailer’s 120-year history.

Now, barely weeks into the job, Heraghty is facing Federal Court proceedings brought by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.

ASIC alleges Heraghty failed to disclose and properly manage conflicts arising from an alleged undisclosed relationship with a senior Super Retail executive, and continued supervising the executive and participating in decisions affecting her employment, remuneration, incentives, rewards and redundancy package.

The regulator also alleges Heraghty participated in board and committee discussions concerning complaints and anticipated legal proceedings relating to the alleged relationship.

More seriously from a corporate governance perspective, ASIC alleges Heraghty provided or authorised information given to Super Retail’s board and the market that omitted information concerning the alleged relationship and was therefore misleading.

Winning Backs Controversial CEO Heraghty seen left with Jane Kelly former head of human resources who he is accused of having an affair with seen right.

Heraghty has not been found to have contravened the law. ASIC is seeking declarations, financial penalties and orders disqualifying him from managing corporations.

For Winning Group, that last potential sanction could become particularly significant.

A disqualification order, if ultimately made by the Federal Court, could directly affect Heraghty’s ability to continue in senior corporate management just as Winning is embarking on what it describes as a major transformation.

Winning Board Backs Heraghty

Rather than distance itself from its new CEO, Winning’s board has backed him.

In a memo to employees following ASIC’s announcement, John Winning senior and the board said Heraghty had been appointed with knowledge of the circumstances surrounding his departure from Super Retail.

“In his short time with us, Anthony has sharpened our approach and made a meaningful impact on our operations,” the memo said.

“We want to assure you the board’s confidence in the direction of the business under his leadership remains firm. The group is performing very strongly and Anthony has begun a transformation.”

That claim of “performing very strongly” warrants scrutiny against Winning’s most recently reported financial performance.

According to previously reported statutory data, Winning Group generated sales of about A$885.5 million, but delivered just A$5.8 million in pre-tax profit, implying a pre-tax margin of less than 1%.

Separate financial reporting on Winning Appliances showed after-tax profit falling to approximately A$1.9 million in FY25 from A$4.75 million a year earlier, a decline of around 60%.

Those numbers provide important context to the board’s claim that the group is now performing “very strongly”. Winning is privately held, and comprehensive current group financial results are not publicly available, so the board’s assertion cannot yet be independently tested against more recent accounts.

What is clear is that Heraghty has inherited a business where margins have been thin and where management is pursuing expansion against considerably larger competitors.

Pressure Building In Premium Appliances

Winning also faces an increasingly aggressive competitive landscape.

The group operates Winning Appliances, Appliances Online, Andoo and Home Clearance, with around 20 stores reported earlier this year. Appliances Online had passed three million customers.

At the same time, JB Hi-Fi Group is expanding its appliance exposure through e&s, creating a significantly larger competitor backed by JB Hi-Fi’s capital, buying power, retail infrastructure and The Good Guys network.

Winning has also been examining new locations and growth opportunities as outside capital becomes increasingly important to its ambitions.

Earlier this year Winning confirmed it had been considering strategic capital partnerships after reports linked Ellerston Capital with the business. At the time Winning disputed reports that the company was being sold, while acknowledging discussions around outside capital.

John Winning Junior left with John Winning Senior Right.

Against that background, the appointment of Heraghty was clearly more than simply replacing John Winning junior.

He was brought in to reshape the business.

Now the executive charged with leading that transformation faces a potentially lengthy regulatory battle.

ASIC Targets Governance And Transparency

ASIC chair Sarah Court made clear that the regulator’s action is focused on corporate governance rather than the existence of a personal relationship.

“The allegations in this matter raise important issues about governance, transparency and trust in the information provided to boards and the market,” Court said.

“This case is not about private relationships, but whether a director properly disclosed and managed conflicts of interest and met their duties.”

ASIC alleges Heraghty placed himself in a position where his personal interests conflicted with his duties to Super Retail Group and failed to properly disclose and manage that conflict.

Heraghty was dismissed by Super Retail in September 2025 before resurfacing at Winning Group as CEO last month.

His appointment marked a dramatic break with Winning tradition, with control of day-to-day operations moving outside the founding family for the first time.

The decision also means the board effectively owns the risk associated with its appointment.

Winning says it knew the circumstances surrounding Heraghty’s Super Retail departure when it hired him. ASIC’s Federal Court proceedings now mean those circumstances are no longer simply historical baggage surrounding its new CEO.

They have become a live governance issue for Winning itself.

And for a retailer attempting to improve profitability, expand its store network, take on increasingly powerful competitors and potentially prepare itself for a future capital markets transaction, the timing could hardly be more challenging.