Lew’s Premier eyes Smiggle, Peter Alexander spin-off, CEO exits

afr.com:

Premier Investments chief executive Richard Murray has quit as the retail group controlled by Solomon Lew evaluates a possible demerger of some of its businesses, including brands Peter Alexander and Smiggle.

Premier said on Monday that the decision to undertake a review “recognises the increased scale of Premier Retail’s various businesses, and the substantial opportunities for each of them”. It hired UBS and Arnold Bloch Leibler.

Premier CEO Richard Murray has stepped down, as chairman Solomon Lew mulls a demerger of the group. Eamon Gallagher

Mr Murray will step down as the head of Premier Retail on September 15, and relinquished his executive director status from today. John Bryce, Premier Retail’s long-standing chief financial officer, has been appointed as interim CEO.

Mr Lew told investors “it is business as usual” and he “understands Richard’s decision to step down”.

“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,” Mr Lew said in a statement.

The company expects to report record global retail sales for the 52 weeks ended July 29 of $1.64 billion, up 9.7 per cent on fiscal 2022 sales. Premier Retail now expects record earnings before interest and tax (excluding significant items) within a range of $355 million to $357 million, an increase of between 6 per cent and 6.6 per cent.

As it evaluates the case for a spin-off, sales at pyjamas brand Peter Alexander have more than doubled from five years ago. In March, Premier flagged it was considering overseas markets for the brand.

Peter Alexander plans to open 20 to 30