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Myer received a second "strike" on salaries at the retailer's highly anticipated shareholders' meeting, with a 37.5 percent protest vote based on proxy votes received prior to the meeting.
Lyndsey Cattermole, Myer's new director, received a 42.8% protest vote and director Dave Whittle was re-elected with a 36.2% protest vote.
The Myer Board avoided an oil spill despite the fact that more than a third of shareholders – 35.9% of proxy votes – are in favor.
Myer President Garry Hounsell took advantage of the Melbourne meeting Friday to do justice to billionaire Solomon Lew, saying it was a "very vindictive campaign" that was terribly destabilizing for our staff, "" our owners have been continually shaken, our bankers, "he said. He dismissed Mr. Lew's claims, saying the campaign was only detrimental to management but destabilizing the company.
Myer President Garry Hounsell reduced his fee by 25%.
"What he wants is to take control of this company (…) without paying an adequate premium and if he succeeds, it will be a very sad day for all shareholders," he said. said Mr. Hounsell at the AG.
Publicity
Hounsell said the new CEO's strategy, John King, could weigh on short-term sales but generate more profits, and defended his decision to no longer publish his quarterly sales figures.
Myer is under increased pressure as a result of poor quarterly sales results that have been disclosed to The Australian Financial Review and forced the company to suspend operations, leaving Mr. Lew with ammunition to reverse the "unfathomable advice".
But the president defended the result and said he had reduced the loss that he usually records during the first quarter of the fiscal year. The company pursues a strategy of not looking for unprofitable sales.
"The total value of sales in the first quarter of fiscal year 19 was lower than in the first quarter of fiscal 2014, but the NPAT loss (pre-implementation costs and significant items individually) for the quarter showed an improvement over the first quarter of fiscal 2010, "said Hounsell.
The most inflamed moment of Friday 's meeting came when Lew' s lawyer, Jeremy Leibler, asked if the president would rule out the prospect of a further deterioration in profits. He also thanked Mr. Hounsell for not disclosing the quarterly sales figures, which fell by 4.8% and resulted in a 17% drop in the stock price.
"Has the Myer Board seriously thought that declining sales would not affect the price of the stock?" Mr. Leibler asked.
"You must think I'm stupid," Hounsell said. "I have already answered the question, we are aware of our obligations of continuous disclosure," he said.
British veteran retailer John King said he visited the country and visited stores and warned that the retailer had "disconnected from its customers".
"I have seen more enlightened funeral homes … we do not seem to be open," he said of a visiting store. at Wagga Wagga.
Myer President Hounsell said that his own expenses had been reduced by 25 percent, as well as those paid to his colleagues on the board.
The president said they had also cut costs, including reorganizing the management team and taking measures such as removing the birdcage from the Melbourne Cup.
"I badure you that we understand the challenges, that we have a clear plan to solve them, and that we now have the leadership to build a better business that satisfies all shareholders," said Hounsell. AG.
"We have reduced costs throughout the company, for example by leaving the Birdcage Melbourne Cup Carnival, removing a significant number of executive and management positions at the support desk, and we are running active discussions to make other floors at the support office, or change locations, to reduce costs. "
Mr. Hounsell argued that the retailer did not publish poor quarterly sales figures that he said had been "illegally" disclosed to the public. Financial badysis.
On May 16, 2018, Myer informed the market that, from the beginning of fiscal year 19, it would not be reporting its quarterly sales, so the market did not expect Myer to publish its sales for the first quarter of 2019. It is important to note that about 70% of similar retailers do not report quarterly sales, "he said.
"The market in which Myer's shares were traded has been particularly disrupted over the past two weeks due to activities by parties other than Myer, its board of directors or management. as a result of letters from Premier Investments, "he said.
Mr. Hounsell also defended the appointment of the director, Ms. Cattermole, and called for the re-election of director, Dave Whittle, who was criticized for his lack of experience in retail and his lack of "skin" in the game ", which means that too little of Myer is shared.
"We have put in place a minimum share ownership policy for directors and since September 2017, the directors have purchased more than 1.95 million shares."
"Lyndsey brings to the board important IT skills and knowledge that are useful in many areas of our business, including retail outlets, websites, supply chain and logistics, as well as IT enhancements to our office." , did he declare.
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