Myer sued by shareholders; Saban Brands rides Aussie surf wave with Piping Hot purchase: Midday Roundup

Myer is facing legal action from a group of shareholders who are alleging loss and damage following the department store’s recent profit downgrade.

The retailer released a statement to the Australian Securities Exchange this morning confirming legal proceedings were served against Myer on Wednesday by a shareholder seeking to bring a group action for itself and on behalf of an unnamed group of shareholders.

The shareholders allege they had suffered loss and damage as the result of a statement made in the context of Myer’s profit results for the 2014 financial year.

After the release of Myer’s results for full-year 2014, investors had been expecting profits of around $90 million.

However, when releasing the retailer’s half-year results for the 2015 financial year last week, new chief executive Richard Umbers said underlying net profit is now expected to fall within the range of $75 million and $80 million this year.

“Myer denies the claim and will defend the litigation vigorously,” Myer said in a statement.

Myer shares had dropped $1.33 at the time of publication.

Saban Brands rides Aussie surf wave with Piping Hot purchase

New York-based retail group Saban Brands has acquired Aussie surfwear label Piping Hot for an undisclosed sum, just months after scooping up iconic surfwear label Mambo.

Piping Hot, which was established in 1975 in Torquay as a surfboard maker, has had a partnership with Target for 18 years and has expanded into swimwear, footwear, beach towels and headwear.

The surf brand will join the Saban Brands portfolio, which also includes labels Paul Frank and Macbeth.

“Piping Hot is an authentic Australian brand that serves as a destination for cool, accessible and on-trend surfwear,” said Elie Dekel, President of Saban Brands in a statement.

“This new acquisition supports our growth strategy in the Asia-Pacific region and will drive expansion of the Piping Hot brand and our overall business worldwide.”

Shares down on open

The local sharemarket has taken a tumble this morning, following losses on international markets overnight.

Michael McCarthy, chief market strategist at CMC Markets, said in a statement unfortunately timed data has “kicked the Australian share market where it is technically vulnerable”.

“After repeated failures by the index to break through the 6,000 level, local investors have seized on the negative overnight action and slammed the market, pushing the index under 5,900,” McCarthy said.

“Volatility is up, and every sector in the red, albeit on light and unconvincing volumes.”

The S&P/ASX 200 benchmark was down 71.2 points to 5902.1 points at 12.12pm AEDT. On Wednesday, the Dow Jones closed 292.6 points lower, down 1.62% to 17718.5 points.