Lew rips into Myer amid profit gloom

BILLIONAIRE fashion magnate Solomon Lew is calling on fellow Myer shareholders to “save the company” with a board spill after shares in the troubled retailer plummeted to an all-time low yesterday after its latest profit warning.

Shares in the department store chain fell as much as 12.4 per cent after it warned it could not foresee an end to the gloomy trading conditions that led to a steep drop in January sales and the need for more writedowns with next month’s first-half results.

Sales fell 6.5 per cent in the January trading period, pushing total first-half sales down 3.6 per cent and prompting Myer’s largest shareholder to renew calls for a board overhaul.

Mr Lew’s Premier Invest- ments, which took a 10.8 per cent stake in Myer in March 2017, called the market update “disastrous” and evidence of an accelerating decline.

“Myer is now in peril and shareholders must urgently unite to save the company and what is left of our investments,” Premier said.

Mr Lew has been a constant critic of Myer’s board since buying a stake long perceived as a foothold for a takeover.

Myer said yesterday it expected net profit of between $37 million and $41 million — down from $62.8 million a year earlier — when it reports firsthalf results on March 21.

Myer shares fell to a record low of 56.5c in early trade — down more than 50 per cent in a year — and closed at 58.5c.