Just Group

The Just Group owns and operates a total of seven retail brands: Just Jeans (Australian clothing chain store), Jay Jays, Jacqui E, Portmans, Dotti, Peter Alexander Sleepwear (through an agreement with Peter Alexander), and Smiggle. The group has over 1,000 stores throughout Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and the United Kingdom.

This article is about the Australian clothing company. For the British company specialising in retirement, see Just Group plc.

Just Group
TypeSubsidiary
IndustryRetail
Founded1970
FounderKimberly family
HeadquartersMelbourne, Australia
Key people
Richard Murray (CEO)
ProductsClothing, accessories
Number of employees
4,000
ParentPremier Investments
Websitejustgroup.com.au

History

The brand Just Jeans was founded in 1970 by the Kimberly family. The first store opened on Chapel Street, Prahran. The idea of selling jeans stacked on shelves was new to the market, but proved to be popular.[1]

On 8 August 2008, Premier Investments obtained a controlling interest in the shares of Just Group following an off-market takeover offer for all of the group shares that commenced on 31 March 2008. Just Group was delisted from the Australian Securities Exchange on 22 September 2008.[2]

In 2011, the group was nailed by the media for using sandblasting to wash off their jeans, a method known to cause silicosis.[3] In 2013, the group was still using sandblasting.[4] The Baptist World Aid's 2015 Fashion Report named the Just Group one of the worst performers when it comes to protecting international workers.[5] From 2012 to 2015, the group went through its digital retail transformation.[6][7]

In October 2016, the Just Group lost its trial against its former CFO Nicole Peck who had left the company to work for a competing company.[8] In August 2017, the brand director of the group, Colette Garnsey, stepped down for medical reasons.[9]

Richard Murray commenced as Premier Retail Chief Executive Officer on 6 September 2021, and was appointed to the Premier Board as executive director on 3 December 2021.

References
  1. Ham, Larissa (1 October 2012). "Just keep changing: life lessons from a jean genie". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
  2. Just Group Limited: Removal from Official List Australian Securities Exchange 22 September 2008
  3. "Worker deaths linked to sandblasted jeans". The World Today. 8 September 2011. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
  4. "Call for ban on jeans sandblasting". SBS World News. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
  5. "Fashion gets a fail on workers' rights". News.com.au. 16 April 2015. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
  6. "Just Group CIO pushes IT to perform at retail pace". iTnews. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
  7. Williams, Azadeh (27 October 2015). "Behind the scenes of Just Group's digital transformation journey". www.cmo.com.au. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
  8. Danckert, Sarah (17 October 2016). "Solomon Lew's Just Group loses case against former chief financial officer Nicole Peck". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
  9. "Just Group director steps down". Inside Retail. 10 August 2017. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
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