Solomon Lew's retail group Premier Investments plans spending its $300 million war chest on acquisitions and offshore expansion, including opening Peter Alexander stores in Britain.
The retailer behind brands including Just Jeans, Dotti and Portmans talked up its expansion plans as it unveiled a double-digit rise in annual profit on Wednesday.
Premier's accounts revealed it has $313.3 million in surplus cash on its books, raising questions about what it might do with the money.
There has been speculation that Mr Lew, Premier's chairman and major shareholder, could combine the cash pile with the $191 million he made selling his stakes in David Jones and Country Road to make a tilt at struggling retailer Myer.
While Mr Lew refused to comment on Myer, he said Premier was interested in acquisitions while focusing on expanding its popular stationary chain Smiggle and Peter Alexander sleepwear brand here and overseas.
"We are always on the look out for opportunities and hopefully in the not so distant future we'll go back to our shareholders telling them we've been able to make an acquisition," he said.
Premier Retail chief executive Mark McInnes said he hoped to be able to detail plans early next year about launching Peter Alexander in the UK sometime after fiscal 2017.
"There is nobody like Peter Alexander in the UK," he said.
"It's a massive market for PJ wearers and our product is completely unique."
Premier lifted underlying profit 10 per cent to $106 million for the year to July 26.
Net profit fell more than 58 per cent to $73 million, due to a previous $105 million reclassification of its stake in kitchen appliance maker Breville.
Like-for-like sales rose by nearly five per cent, aided by all of Premier's seven brands - Just Jeans, Dotti, Portmans, Smiggle, Peter Alexander, Jacqui E and Jay Jays - posting growth in the second half.
Mr McInnes said it was the first time all brands had been firing at once in "a long time."
The star performer was Smiggle, which achieved record sales aided by its move into the UK, where it expects to open another 10 stores by Christmas.
"Already three of our top 10 Smiggle stores globally by sales are located in the UK, underscoring the potential for this unique brand in the UK market," Mr Lew said.
IG Markets equities strategist Evan Lucas said Premier had performed exceptionally well while other retailers struggled dealing with warm winter weather and a drop in consumer spending after the May federal budget.
"Solomon Lew's so savvy it's very hard to pre-empt what he'll do next because he sees things that others don't," he said.
"Most likely he'll be looking at private entities that have niche businesses with real growth, like Portmans, where he can get a price that is right."
Premier's shares closed nearly eight per cent higher at $10.60.
PREMIER POSTS SOLID SALES RISE
* Net profit of $73m, down 58 pct from $174.5m in 2012/13
* Sales revenue $892.6m, up 5.8 pct from $843.2m
* Fully franked final dividend of 20 cents a share, up from 19 cents
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