Baillieu Myer

Sidney Baillieu Myer (11 January 1926 – 22 January 2022), also known as Bails Myer, was an Australian businessman and philanthropist. A member of the Myer family retailing dynasty, he was the son of Sidney and Merlyn Myer. He joined his family's company, the Myer Emporium, in 1949 and became its chairman in 1983. He oversaw its merger with GJ Coles & Coy to create Coles Myer and retired from business in 1994. In his later life, Myer was involved with philanthropic, scientific and arts organisations. Early life and education Myer was born on 11 January 1926 in San Francisco, California. He was one of four children of Sidney Myer, who founded the Australian department store chain Myer in 1900, and Merlyn Myer ( Baillieu). Because Sidney Myer's divorce from his first wife was not recognised under Australian law, his second wife, Merlyn, travelled to San Francisco for the birth of each of her four children so that they would be considered legitimate. Baillieu had an older brother, Ken, and two sisters, Neilma and Marigold. In 1929, the family moved to Toorak, Victoria, Australia. Myer attended Geelong Grammar School where one of his teachers was the historian Manning Clark. He served as a sub-lieutenant in the Royal Australian Navy during World War II aboard HMAS Pirie. After the war, he studied commerce at the University of Melbourne for one year and then attended Pembroke College at the University of Cambridge where he received a Master of Arts degree in economics. He then trained in retail at Macy's in New York and Harrods in London. In London, he worked with the speech therapist Lionel Logue to manage his stammer. Business career Myer joined his family's business, the Myer Emporium, in 1949, and was named executive director in 1955. Over the next two decades, he and his brother Ken advocated for an aggressive expansion of the business into the suburban market, though this strategy was met with initial resistance from the company's board. In 1960, Myer and his brother established a Myer store in Chadstone (now Chadstone Shopping Centre, the biggest shopping centre in Australia). The store's success led to the company establishing numerous other suburban centres in Melbourne and Sydney. Myer oversaw the 1968 rebranding of the Myer Emporium–acquired retail chain Lindsay's as Lindsay's Target (now Target Australia) after negotiating the right to use the name and logo of the American Target.