The Reject Shop Limited is an Australian discount variety store chain selling a range of goods such as food, snacks, gift cards and party, health and beauty aids, cleaning supplies, storage, kitchenware, homewares and seasonal items in 356 store locations across Australia. Founded in 1981, The Reject Shop employs over 5,000 staff. The group replaced a number of Chickenfeed stores in Tasmania, and took up the space that was left when Retail Adventures closed down.
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. 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 28 August 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 as chief executive officer. His appointment follows the departure of Chris Bryce in June 2014, after leading a significant growth phase of the business. In December 2019, the company announced Andre Reich as chief executive officer, effective from 13 January 2020.
