Sports Direct boss survives
SPORTS Direct chairman Keith Hellawell defended the retailer’s controversial working practices after narrowly surviving a shareholder bid to oust him.
Hellawell, the former West Yorkshire police chief constable who has chaired the company since 2009, had pledged to step down if he failed to win the support of independent investors who last year voted against him.
He was backed by just over 53 per cent of independent shareholders, with nearly 47 per cent opposing his re-election at the company’s annual meeting. Institutions such as Standard Life Aberdeen, Royal London and Hermes Investment had all spoken out against him.
Hellawell had come under pressure to stand down amid concerns over corporate governance failures and being unable to curb the power of Mike Ashley, the firm’s billionaire founder who owns 61 per cent.
Last year, more than half of the independent shareholders voted against him, but he stayed after a second vote in January with Ashley’s backing.
Hellawell defended its use of zerohours contracts and said there was no need for an independent review of its working practices. He said: “We say casual workers, you say zero-hours contracts. It is still a legal form of employment in this country. While that still is a legal form of employment we will choose if we wish to continue with that form of employment.
“A very large proportion of our workers are happy to maintain that flexibility. We are constantly looking at ways of keeping our workforce happy.”
The meeting was attended by Sports Direct’s worker representative on the board, Alex Balacki, who joined the retailer as a Saturday boy and has risen to store manager after 13 years.
Balacki, who was nominated by staff directly employed by Sports Direct but not agency workers, said the majority of workers he spoke to were happy at the company.
He added: “I have asked staff how they would feel having contracted hours rather than casual and they want casual because it gives them so much greater flexibility.”
Ashley, who did not attend the AGM, said trading at its new generation flagship stores was exceeding expectations as it seeks to become the “Selfridges” of sport. Annual pre-tax earnings are expected to grow 5-15 per cent this year.