Myer has issued a response to a letter sent to Myer shareholders by Premier Investments following the release of the company's Q3 results last week.
The letter from Premier chairman Solomon Lew blasted the company for its sales decline in the quarter and took aim at Myer's “extreme discounting program” that Lew said will lead to further bad sales announcements.
Myer executive chairman Garry Hounsell called the comments obstructive and said that Premier had conflicting interests in the matter.
“Premier Investments continues to be engaged in a hostile and obstructive campaign that appears to be designed to destabilise Myer.
“Premier Investments is conflicted because of its position as a major supplier and competitor to Myer.”
Myer's letter also addressed the allegation that Hounsell was self-appointed as executive chair following the departure of former CEO Richard Umbers and called the claims “factually inaccurate and misleading”.
“Mr Hounsell was not 'self-appointed'. There was an appropriate board process following the departure of the previous CEO, with an independent committee set up to over the transition to the role and Mr Hounsell's performance.
“Mr Hounsell has acted swiftly to secure a new CEO, John King, who has highly relevant international department store and retail experience.”
The company also moved to defend Sass & Bide chairman Julie Ann Morrison after her performance was also savaged by Lew.
“Julie Ann Morrison was appointed as chairman of the board of Sass & Bide in August 2017 and, since that time, the performance of the business has improved.
“It is plainly false that Ms Morrison is responsible for the Sass & Bide acquisition, which occurred in two tranches in February 2011 and September 2013.”