The Reject Shop

The Reject Shop
Public (ASX: TRS)
Industry Discount Variety Retail
Founded 1981
Founder Ron Hall and John Shuster [1]
Headquarters 245 Racecourse Rd Kensington, Victoria 3031, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Number of locations
 321
Area served
 Australia
Key people
 Ross Sudano (CEO)
Revenue Increase A$711,572,000 (2014)
Profit Decrease A$14,500,000 (2014)
Number of employees
 3500
Website www.rejectshop.com.au

The Reject Shop is an Australian discount variety store chain. Founded in 1981 as a "seconds" store in South Yarra, Victoria, the company currently operates over 320 stores Australia-wide. The Reject Shop employs over 5,000 staff.[2]

On 11 September 2009, it was announced that Gerry Masters had resigned his position as Managing Director and would be replaced by Chris Bryce, the Chief Financial Officer, effective 14 September 2009.

History

Since 1994, the chain was previously majority owned by Macquarie Bank, but was floated on the Australian stock exchange in June 2004 when Macquarie decided to offload its shares.[3][4] The float was successful, with the company tripling in size two years after going public.[5] Former chief executive Barry Saunders, recruited to the company in 2000 by Macquarie Bank, retired in 2007.[6] He was replaced in May 2007 by Gerry Masters, a former Coles Group executive, after 33 years with his former employer.[7]

Despite the strong growth experienced by the company in the years following 2004, a profit warning in December 2010 resulted in a sharp drop in the share price. The company was also affected by the Queensland Floods of 2010, with the company's brand new Ipswich Distribution Center being flooded. The warehouse became operational once again on August 28, 2011. A similar profit warning in June 2014 resulted in another share drop of 50%, making them one of the top worst performing shares in 2014.[8][9]

In 2013, the company commenced an aggressive growth plan, following the closure of a number of Retail Adventures stores. The company passed the 300 store milestone in October 2013.

On 8 July 2014, The Reject Shop announced the appointment of Ross Sudano (formerly of Little World Beverages) as Chief Executive Officer. His appointment follows the departure of Chris Bryce in June 2014, after leading a significant growth phase of the business.[10]


Philanthropy

The company founded the Reject Shop Foundation in June 2014, to fund Good Beginnings Australia.[11]

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://www.rejectshop.com.au/aboutus/index.php
  2. ↑ IBM Case Studies - The Reject Shop, IBM.
  3. ↑ Leyden, Fleur: Reject Shop prepares to float out of bargain basement, The Age, 19 April 2004.
  4. ↑ Leyden, Fleur: Reject Shop gears up for June float, The Age, 29 April 2004.
  5. ↑ The Reject Shop goes has tripled in size, The Sydney Morning Herald, 12 June 2006.
  6. ↑ Achievements show Saunders is no reject The Sydney Morning Herald, 16 January 2007.
  7. ↑ Executive who started at the bottom aims to develop a rejection complex, The Age, 31 May 2007
  8. ↑ "Reject Shop shares drop as profits take hit". Sydney Morning Herald. 10 June 2014. Retrieved 3 July 2014.
  9. ↑ "Worst performing stocks in fiscal 2014". Finance News Network. 1 July 2014. Retrieved 3 July 2014.
  10. ↑ "Reject Shop names Ross Sudano as new chief replacing Chris Bryce". Sydney Morning Herald. 8 July 2014. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
  11. ↑ "The Reject Shop Foundation aims to help children in need". Daily Telegraph. 19 June 2014. Retrieved 3 July 2014.

External links