Lew takes another swipe at Myer

MYER’S incoming chief will be burdened by a failed board with no experience in running a department store chain, retail billionaire Solomon Lew says.

Mr Lew, whose retail group Premier Investments is Myer’s biggest shareholder, also says the board of the struggling department store chain should be “ashamed” of its most recent trading update.

The latest salvo from the Melbourne-based billionaire shows the appointment of a new chief executive at Myer will not dissuade its biggest shareholder from trying to topple the board.

Mr Lew yesterday issued a new letter to Myer shareholders warning them to brace for another profit downgrade.

The retail veteran is working to gather enough shareholder support to purge the Myer board and replace it with a group of directors he says can turn the business around.

Mr Lew took a fresh swipe at Myer executive chairman Garry Hounsell over his comments at the department store group’s trading update this week that an “unseasonably warm start to winter” may hit fourth-quarter sales.

“The weather has been great for retail during May and industry feedback is that other retailers have had a stunning Mother’s Day sales result. If only Mr Hounsell knew retail as well as he knows excuses.”

Shares in the chain are now trading for around 42c.