Billionaire pub baron Bruce Mathieson has issued a scathing assessment of the performance of Dan Murphy’s and BWS as he doubles down on efforts to get retail veteran Bill Wavish elected to the board of Endeavour Group.
Mathieson, who owns a 15 per cent stake in the business, said in a letter to Endeavour’s chairman, Peter Hearl, that he was very concerned about the strategic direction of the pubs and drinks retail operator and the current leadership team’s ability to turn the business around.
Dan Murphy’s owner Endeavour Group is increasingly focused on its digital footprint.
In the letter, seen by this masthead, Mathieson said there was a “deep catalogue of issues” holding the company, which was spun out from Woolworths in 2021, back from success.
“Brand positioning is strategically lost, in particular at Dan Murphy’s and BWS where there is a confused merchandising strategy, no momentum and market share declines,” he said.
The stage has been set this week for an explosive boardroom stoush at the hospitality business after Mathieson first voiced his support on Tuesday for Wavish, a former executive chairman of Myer who has held numerous executive roles at Woolworths, to join Endeavour’s board.
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Tensions continued on Wednesday when Endeavour Group acknowledged Wavish’s nomination in materials for its annual meeting, but told investors it was advising that they vote against his election given the timing of his nomination, which meant “the board is not in a position to determine whether it is in the best interests of Endeavour for Mr Wavish to be elected as a director of Endeavour”, the company said.
Mathieson hit out at Endeavour’s notice of meeting for the annual general meeting, which told investors that if Wavish did not receive all the necessary regulatory approvals by the time of the AGM, he would not be eligible to stand for election.
“This is preposterous as there is no realistic prospect that anyone could obtain all necessary regulatory approvals in such a short time frame,” he said.
The approach was “fundamentally different” from the approach Endeavour had taken with recent board appointments of Anne Brennan, Rod van Onselen and Bruce Mathieson Jnr, whose appointments were announced subject to regulatory approvals, he said.
But drink retail veteran Tony Leon, the former boss of Coles’ liquor division and the mastermind behind Dan Murphy’s stores, backed Endeavour’s current leadership and boss Steve Donohue on Thursday.
Leon said Donohue, who has held a broad range of roles within the company since starting at Dan Murphy’s in 1994, was steering the business through the post-COVID years well.
“People respect him and suppliers respect him in Australia and overseas,” Leon said.
Endeavour’s annual general meeting will be held in Sydney on October 31.
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