The Reject Shop in Burnie
|
|
Public (ASX: TRS) | |
Industry | Discount Variety Retail |
Founded | 1981 |
Founder | Ron Hall & John Shuster |
Headquarters | Kensington, Victoria, Australia |
Number of locations
|
340 |
Area served
|
Australia |
Key people
|
Ross Sudano (CEO) |
Revenue | A$799,958,000 (2016) |
Profit | A$17,100,000 (2016) |
Number of employees
|
5,600 |
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, the company currently operates over 340 stores Australia-wide. The Reject Shop employs over 5,600 staff.
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. The float was successful, with the company tripling in size two years after going public.
Former chief executive Barry Saunders, recruited to the company in 2000 by Macquarie Bank, retired in 2007. He was replaced in May 2007 by Gerry Masters, a former Coles Group executive, after 33 years with his former employer.
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.
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 Centre 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.
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.