By Sarah Falson
WOY WOY: Stephen Catherine’s Woy Woy Retravision store closed on Saturday after operating for almost 20 years, and the staff have just finished moving its existing stock over to the proprietor’s other Retravision store in Umina.
Catherine was unavailable for comment today, but according to store manager, Karen Joyce, business at the Woy Woy town had been gradually slowing for the past five years.
“The business was quiet – a bank had just closed next door and a new centre opened-up across the way, making business difficult. We were one of the many businesses moving out of the area,” she said.
The new shopping centre in Woy Woy includes a Kmart but is otherwise now void of electrical retailers. Joyce doesn’t anticipate a competing electrical group will purchase the vacated Retravision premises.
“You’d have trouble re-letting the premises, I think,” she said.
“It used to be busy five years ago, but all the other stores are now closing and the area is generally dead.”
Retravision Umina will absorb all except two of the Woy Woy staff members along with the remaining stock.
According to Joyce, the Umina store’s trade is “booming”, and yesterday in particular was an extremely busy day with Joyce selling lots of washing machines and televisions.
The Umina store has recently migrated to the Retravision Northern group following a re-branding of the entire Retravision group into three areas: Northern, Southern and Western.
When Retravision New South Wales went into receivership in October last year, members of the group were forced to source stock from their northern and southern neighbours, then called Retravision Queensland and Vic-Tas.
Former Retravision NSW members have now been split geographically, permanently joining the other groups.