‘The board of Super Retail today announces that the group expects two employees, represented by Harmers Workplace Lawyers, will shortly commence court proceedings,’ the retailer announced in an ASX statement on Friday. But Super Retail Group, which took the unusual step of disclosing the expected legal case before papers had been lodged in court, will defend the allegations it says have already been investigated by its board. Harmers said it was acting for four clients who are whistleblowers against Super Retail as defined by the Corporations Act. The legal firm said it had been approached by more current and ex-employees with similar concerns and that any action would extend to Heraghty personally as chief executive. Since Super Retail’s Friday disclosure that it faced a $50 million lawsuit by two employees over allegations of bullying, victimisation and adverse treatment, Harmers said it “had been approached by a number of present Super Retail employees very concerned about crucial governance issues”. Super Retail Group plans to open more than 50 new stores and expand into the leisure retail market after agreeing to buy sports goods retailer Rebel Group from private equity firm Archer Capital for $610 million.

According to Super Retail Group, complaints of the two employees will include the non-disclosure of an alleged intimate relationship between Group MD and CEO Anthony Heraghty and an executive colleague (who is not one of the claimants). Law firm Harmers Workplace Lawyers, representing the aggrieved staff, is yet to file a claim. But the firm, which describes itself as “one of Australia’s largest and multi-award winning employment … And industrial law firms”, took issue with the Super Retail Group statement to the ASX. Join Mergr to view all 125 acquisitions of consumer products companies in 2011, including 48 acquisitions by private equity firms, and 77 by strategics.

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The $3 billion company behind some of Australia’s best-known retail brands including Rebel Sport and Super Cheap Auto is bracing to defend a likely multi-million dollar case against the company involving its chief executive. Super Retail said it would defend any court proceedings in via its lawyers from Allens.“As these matters are expected to be the subject of litigation, the group does not intend to make any further comment at this time,” it said. Super Retail Group is the parent company of sporting and apparel brands Rebel Sport and Macpac, outdoor brand BCF and car detailing retailer Supercheap Auto. Rebel Sport offers customers an incomparable range of the biggest brands and latest products. ‘Super Retail Group will defend any court proceedings in relation to the allegations,’ the company said.

Rebel stocks a number of well known international brands, including Nike, Asics, Adidas, Puma and Under Armour. In 2023 the Fair Work Ombudsman took action against Super Retail Group and its four subsidiaries for allegedly underpaying staff more than $60million. Super Retail Group is chaired by Sally Pitkin, who has a masters of laws, and was until late 2022 the chair of the Australian Institute of Company Directors’ governance committee. It’s understood Super Retail Group considers the legal threat without merit and any legal action would have to provide clear justification for its existence. We built Mergr to save people the arduous and time-consuming process of tracking when companies are bought, sold, and who currently owns them.

• Super Retail said it would defend any court proceedings in via its lawyers from Allens.“As these matters are expected to be the subject of litigation, the group does not intend to make any further comment at this time,” it said.
• Super Retail Group told the ASX that its internal investigation by the board did not find any of the allegations were substantiated.
• Harmers said it was acting for four clients who are whistleblowers against Super Retail as defined by the Corporations Act.

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In 2011, Amart Sports was acquired by Super Retail Group.5 In 2017, the Amart Sports brand was discontinued and merged into the Rebel Sport brand.891011 The merger was designed to allow a focus on a single sporting goods brand and reduce costs. Super Retail Group Limited is an Australian-based company which owns and operates a portfolio of retail brands across Australia and New Zealand. The brands include automotive retailer Supercheap Auto, outdoor and leisure retailers Macpac and BCF and sporting retailer Rebel (formerly Rebel Sport). The company says the joint claims for loss and damage are expected between $30m and $50m and would defend any court action.

Other allegations in the case will include bullying and victimisation, unreasonable workloads, insufficient resources, adverse treatment, unsatisfactory company record management and access to information being restricted. The board of Super Retail Group is bracing itself for imminent court proceedings against the company by two unidentified employees who it’s believed will jointly try and claim between $30-$50million in damages. The case is also expected to involve allegations of bullying and victimisation, adverse treatment, some corporate team members having unreasonable workloads, insufficient resources and access to information being restricted and unsatisfactory company record management. Any legal action from Harmers is expected to be delayed while the law firm reviews the new information it has received. It comes as the group looks to establish itself as the leading retailer of automotive and leisure products in the Australian market.

At $30m-$50m, it’s understood the quantum of the claim expected to be made is one of the greatest in Australian corporate history. Super Retail Group told the ASX that its internal investigation by the board did not find any of the allegations were substantiated. Out of 60 sectors in the Mergr database, consumer products ranked 16 in number of deals in 2011. The largest consumer products acquisition in 2011 was Provimi BV – which was acquired by Cargill for $1.7B.

According to the law firm, the complaint was removed from the integrity officer and the head of risk and handed to an HR manager who reported directly to Kelly. Harmers said one of its clients made a whistleblower complaint last November via the retail group’s internal process, referring to the relationship between Heraghty and Kelly and its impact on governance issues. It says it will seek to derive supply chain efficiencies through leveraging the expertise and capabilities of the combined businesses. The takeover would increase earnings per share by a mid-single digit percentage in financial 2012 before cost savings and is expected to be completed on October 31. Super Retail’s acquisition comprises 90 Rebel Sport stores, 36 Amart stores and two Performance Sports stores.

In an unusual move, Super Retail Group disclosed the expected legal case before court papers had been lodged. “The board has conducted a review and investigations into these allegations,” the company said. According to the lawyers, the retailer denied any relationship between the two as recently as this month. Mr Birtles said there was a natural fit between the businesses as Rebel would strengthen Super Retail’s leisure and apparel offering, while Super Retail could provide the expertise to accelerate Rebel’s growth and store rollout. In a statement, Super Retail Group said there had been see this here an internal review of the claims and it denies the allegations.

Harmers criticised Super Retail’s Friday statement, saying it amounted to victimisation of the whistleblowers and had caused them additional damage. “When Harmers pointed out that it had clear proof of an intimate relationship, and thus a significant unreported conflict of interest, Super Retail’s position immediately shifted,” Harmers said. “There is a significant potential opportunity to grow Rebel from 128 stores today to a total of 185 stores over the medium term, across both the Rebel and Amart banners,” Mr Birtles said.