Mr Lew has said heintends to call an extraordinary general meeting of Myer shareholders with a view to potentially canvass support from the department store’s extensive retail shareholder base.
However,some of Myer’s larger retail shareholders have expressed their doubts over Mr Lew’s plans. Michael Saba,former founder of Swisse Vitamins and owner of Saba Organics,shot down the billionaire’s recent attempts,saying it was “toxic behaviour” which was impeding Myer’s recovery.
Mr Saba,who owns about 7 million Myer shares,expressed full confidence in the department store’s directors,saying they had been doing a lot of “heavy lifting” and had the right skills to keep growing the company into the future. He also praised the board’s equal gender split,something he is concerned could disappear if Mr Lew was to appoint directors.
“The real concern is Solomon replacing the existing top performers with his own style of leaders,potentially raging with more testosterone. It may work for Mr Lew,not for the rest of the shareholders though,” he said. “There’s also a bit of a conflict with him having control because of the millions in merchandise that he supplies to Myer.”
“The real concern is Solomon replacing the existing top performers with his own style of leaders,potentially raging with more testosterone. It may work for Mr Lew,not for the rest of the shareholders though.”
Michael Saba
Mr Saba acquired his stake in Myer four years ago and said he was still very happy with his investment,pointing to the company’s balance sheet and online growth under chief executive John King,who he said was “one of the world’s best CEOs”.
“Solomon has been doing nothing but dishing out negative commentary,not the mature or constructive way to solve challenges,” Mr Saba said. “It’s about what’s good for all. It’s about time he commended the awesome Myer team for the awesome results they are delivering.”