Premier Investments CEO Richard Murray will resign from the top job, effective September 2023.
He has also resigned as the executive director of Premier, effective today (August 21).
Premier Retail’s long-standing chief financial officer John Bryce has been appointed as interim chief executive officer of the retail division effective today and will continue to fulfill his CFO responsibilities during this time.
Premier chairman Solomon Lew thanked Murray for his two years of leadership.
“The Board accepts and understands Richard’s decision to step down,” Lew said. “On behalf of the Board and the entire Premier Retail team, we wish Richard well in his future endeavors."
Alongside the leadership change, Premier has announced a formal review to assess its corporate, operating and capital structure, with particular focus on its apparel brands - including Portmans, Just Jeans, Jay Jays, Jacqui E and Dotti - Peter Alexander, and stationery and accessories brand Smiggle.
A recent trading update by the company noted the decision to undertake the review “recognises the increased scale of Premier Retail’s various businesses and the substantial opportunities for each of them.”
Premier reported that Peter Alexander’s sales have more than doubled from five years ago and has identified growth opportunities for new and/or larger formats and planned offshore market expansion.
Meanwhile, the five brands within its apparel sector have delivered ongoing growth across Australia and New Zealand, according to Premier. The company noted it will continue to optimise the apparel store footprint whilst exploring new store formats, fit-outs and optimal online execution.
Smiggle is also preparing to expand in its existing global markets including 350 wholesale doors year-round and around 300 proprietary stores in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland.
“Premier seeks to ensure that each of its brands is best positioned to take advantage of those opportunities in the interests of shareholders,” the company wrote in a trading update. “The review will consider a range of options, and will include a review of Premier’s corporate, operating and capital structure, including dividend policies and a separation of the group into two or more distinct entities by way of demerger.
“The review will examine capital requirements, business plans, management structures, separation costs and any cost dis-synergies.
“Given the range of issues to be considered, there is no certainty that the review will result in a change to Premier’s current corporate, operating or capital structure.”
Premier appointed UBS and Arnold Bloch Leibler to advise it on the review.
“At this time, it is business as usual,” Lew said. “The Premier board is focused on moving forward with its formal review as announced today, under the strong leadership of Mr Bryce and the senior management team, whilst continuing to focus on the first-rate retail execution that Premier is known for.”
Premier's retail arm expects to report a total global sales of $1.64 billion for the 52 weeks ending July 29, 2023 - up 9.7% for the prior financial year.
Premier Retail now expects a record FY23 earnings before interest and tax EBIT in the range of $355.0 million and $357.0 million. This represents an increase between 6.0% and 6.6% on FY22 and between 112.2% and 113.4% on FY19.