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MYER's largest shareholder Solomon Lew has called on the department store chain to put up its numbers amid its claims that its fortunes are improving.
The retail veteran, who bought a 10.77 per cent stake in Myer through his investment vehicle Premier Investments in March, says Myer should reveal its first quarter sales at the company's strategy day on 1 November.
"Premier believes Myer needs to fully inform the market of its first quarter sales and profit performance at its strategy day so that the market can determine whether there has been any progress made in addressing the sales and profit decline at Myer," Premier said in a statement on Monday.
"The first quarter will have closed by the time of the strategy day, so there will be no need for any delay in releasing these numbers."
The company referred to comments by Myer chairman-elect Garry Hounsell that the company's "New Myer" plan is beginning to show "green shoots" in its performance.
Lew (pictured right with CEO Mark McInnes) has been one of Myer's fiercest critics, and since Premier bought its stake, the share price has lost more than a third of its value.
He has set up the potential for a showdown with the Myer board by asking for its list of shareholders. The move has spurred speculation the billionaire rag trader intends to push for a seat on the board of the struggling department store.
Myer released its worst profit result since 2009 in September when its statutory net profit dropped 80 per cent to $11.9 million in the 2017 financial year due to writedowns and a fall in revenue, which also prompted the announcement of store closures.
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