MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA: Premier Investments Limited has notified appointment of Richard Murray to the role of CEO Premier Retail and Premier Executive Director, Commencing 4 October 2021.

Premier Chairman, Mr Solomon Lew, said: “On behalf of the Board, I am delighted to announce Richard’s appointment to the role of CEO Premier Retail. Richard is unquestionably one of the best retailers in Australia, having delivered significant growth, transformation and shareholder value during his career at the JB Hi-Fi Group.

Richard’s appointment continues Premier’s track record of recruiting and retaining the best executives in the industry.”

The appointment of Mr Murray follows the decision of Mark McInnes to step down from his role. Mr McInnes will commence gardening leave following the completion of the 2021 full year trading period. Under the terms of Mr McInnes’ employment contract, Premier has elected to exercise a 12-month restraint ending in January 2023 and is entitled to exercise a further 12-month restraint through to January 2024.

Mr Lew said: “The Board thanks Mark for his stewardship of Premier Retail over the past ten years. Mark has guided the business to deliver record year-on-year operational and financial performance across the retail cycle via the relentless and consistent pursuit of Premier’s strategy. Mark will leave Premier in a very strong position following the Group’s FY2021 year end. It is a great credit to Premier and its Board that we have been able to attract highly regarded leaders such as Mark, Richard and our outstanding senior leadership team.

“The appointment of Richard, announced today, will enable the Board and senior leadership team to plan for a smooth and seamless transition. The Board is immensely proud of its highly skilled senior leadership team who remain fully focussed on continuing to deliver for all stakeholders. We look forward to welcoming Richard to our strong and committed team of more than 9,000 people.

“This is the beginning of a new chapter for Premier as the Group continues to grow its brands both locally and globally while carefully managing through continued pandemic conditions across numerous jurisdictions. With a very strong balance sheet Premier is exceptionally well placed to continue to grow our existing businesses and seek out new opportunities into the future.”

Premier Investments Limited is an Australia-based company, which operates a range of specialty retail fashion chains within the specialty retail fashion markets in Australia, New Zealand, Asia and Europe. The Company also has investments in listed securities and money market deposits.