The department store’s share price shot up nearly 17 per cent in afternoon trading to 77.7 cents.

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An executive reshuffle is well under way at Myer: former Qantas loyalty boss Olivia Wirth and veteran corporate raider Gary Weiss joined the board at its annual general meeting in November, during which long-standing chair JoAnne Stephenson retired, to be replaced by businessman and board director Ari Mervis. Chief executive officer John King and chief financial officer Nigel Chadwick are set to leave the company this year.

Oberg noted there had been some speculation that retail heavyweight Mark McInnes, the former boss of David Jones and then CEO of Solomon Lew’s Premier Investments, could be a candidate for the position of Myer chief executive before it was revealed he had joined self-made billionaire Brett Blundy’s $3 billion empire.

The next chief executive for Myer should be focused on maintaining management’s focus on cost savings as well as bring a greater focus on boosting sales, Oberg said.

It was the same relief over beaten expectations that drove the 16 per cent jump in Nick Scali’s share price after the furniture retailer reported half-year net profit of $43 million, beating its own forecast of $40 million to $42 million.

“Clearly the start to the year has been better than what people thought,” said Oberg.

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Some nine months ago, company analysts slashed expectations for retailers amid interest rate hikes, but Oberg said those numbers now appeared too pessimistic. Wilson Asset Management expects other retailers such as Harvey Norman and Premier to also report stronger-than-expected half-year figures.

Nick Scali, which acquired sofa chain Plush in late 2021, will this year seek to press on with its store rollout, but is contending with limited site availability and high rents. It has 64 Nick Scali stores and 44 Plush stores, with ambitions to open dozens more of both brands across Australia and New Zealand.

A new Nick Scali store will open in Sydney’s north this year, chief executive Anthony Scali said in a call with investors on Tuesday.

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