KEY POINTS:
Cashed-up Kathmandu founder Jan Cameron has become the biggest single shareholder in budget retailer Postie Plus.
Cameron sold Kathmandu to Goldman Sachs JBWere and Quadrant private equity in 2006.
She used a portion of her profit to take an 8.6 per cent of Postie Plus on September 12 and on Thursday she spent $979,000 to increase her stake to 11.96 per cent.
Postie Plus chairman Peter van Rij said he had had no communications with Cameron about her interest in the firm.
But he said that given her expertise in retailing, he regarded her growing stake in Postie Plus to be a vote of confidence in the company.
Cameron - who the NBR Rich List says is New Zealand's richest woman and worth around $300 million - was based in Christchurch, but she is now living in Tasmania and has been reported as taking on European investments.
Thursday's purchase takes her above the 8.8 per cent held by nominee company New Zealand Central Securities.
After Cameron, the next largest individual shareholder in Postie Plus is Terry Nuttall on 5 per cent.
Cameron's interest has done little to increase market interest in the small retail firm, which has a market capitalisation of just $28 million.
The company floated in September 2003 at $1 a share. It was at 77c in September this year when Cameron bought in and yesterday closed at 70c, down 2c for the day.
Speaking at the annual meeting on November 30, van Rij said the loss of $488,000 to July 30 had been "disappointing".
In the first six months ending January the group increased sales 12.5 per cent on an all-stores basis on the previous year.
Full-year sales of $136 million were up 8.9 per cent while same-store sales increased 2.95 per cent.
Postie Group has 128 stores in New Zealand, up from 93 shops in 2004.
