Australia, insurance, car, home, live, holidays

A successful entry of Wirth and Weiss into Myer’s board,coupled with Stephenson’s exit,would reset the executive options for the retailer ahead of a broader management shakeup at Myer next year. Current chief executive officer John King and chief financial officer Nigel Chadwick are bothset to exit the business in 2024.

Gary Weiss,one of Lew’s oldest friends and business allies.Credit:Sam Mooy

Premier said on Monday it was ready to back the nominations of Wirth and Weiss at Myer’s annual meeting.

“As Myer’s largest shareholder,we are supportive of Myer’s efforts to refresh the board by adding to the skills and experience of the group,” a spokesperson for Premier said.

“With regard to the new proposed directors,we were pleased to note their strong property,commercial,consumer and loyalty credentials. We intend to vote in support of all proposed and existing directors standing for election to the board at Myer’s upcoming AGM.”

Myer pointed to Wirth’s strong capability in customer experience and analytics,given her experience heading up Qantas Loyalty,which oversees customer loyalty through the airline’s frequent flyer program.

She will remain in her current role at Qantas in addition to her proposed new role on the Myer board.

Consumer loyalty programs are a key focus for Myer moving forward,as it aims to continue to grow the impact of its Myer One program.

The company told investors when revealing its 2023 financial results last month that loyalty rewards were becoming an increasingly important part of the business,with shoppers who had access to loyalty points spending more than those who don’t.

Myer has 7.3 million contactable members in the Myer One program,a 10 per cent jump on last year,with 4.2 million active members who have shopped with the business in the past 12 months.

Outgoing CEO King has been touting the potential of the customer data,collected through Myer One,to help the store develop better targeted offerings for consumers.

“Myer One will continue to underpin growth for our business as we leverage better insights
to inform our business decisions,deliver greater insights and support for our partners,providing a strong and actionable database to commercialise further and deepen the connection with our most loyal Myer One customers,” he told investors and analysts at the company’s full-year results.

The new board will be steering the business through the continued slowdown in discretionary spending,though the department store sector may be the one bright spot of the upcoming festive trading season,with Australian Retailers Association figures predicting department store sales will be up by 2.9 per cent this Christmas compared with last year.

Myer shares opened 1 per cent stronger to 52 cents per share,but reversed course to end the session at 50 cents.

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