By James Wells

ADELAIDE: The new owners of the Truscotts electrical retailing business in Adelaide have announced plans to sell environmental products including solar panels alongside traditional consumer electronics and whitegoods.

The new owner of the business, Dr Christopher Starrs, said he would like to grow the Truscotts business by expanding into related product areas which are related to the current emphasis on electrical appliances and whitegoods.

“What I suggest is to expand Truscotts into the three Es – electrical, electronics and the environment. For example, in a state like South Australia, solar energy is very viable – we intend to move into that direction,” he said.

“I need to work with the management team before I go much further, but I think the company should place more emphasis on environmental friendliness – that will lead to a product offering in addition to its current goods.”

Starrs said the Truscotts business has the ability to return to its former glory.

“I think the company has suffered over the last couple of years from a relationship with a fairly distant owner and a lack of marketing in South Australia itself. We plan to restore it to what it was a matter of two years ago when it was turning over $55 million a year. At the moment it is not operating at half of that, and we intend to take it back.”

Starrs rejected the assumption that he bought the business with the view to selling it in the near future.

“You are not the first person to ask whether we intend to buy, rape and pillage it and close it down. This is not what we are intending to do,” he said.