By Craig Zammit

SYDNEY: Bing Lee will continue its 50 year anniversary celebrations next month as the retail brand expands into the mid-north coast region of New South Wales with the opening of Bing Lee Port Macquarie which previously traded as a Retravision store.

Owned and operated by franchisees Diane and Ian Parker, the Port Macquarie location will retain its eight existing full time staff and celebrate the new Bing Lee ownership with a four day sale to commence Thursday 3 May 2007.

As well as the sale, Bing Lee Port Macquarie will hold a grand opening event on Saturday 5 May with activities including a live outside broadcast by local radio station 2MC, a $20,000 home and lifestyle giveaway for customers spending over $50 as well as $5,000 instant giveaways on the day.

The $20,000 Home and Lifestyle Giveaway includes a Fisher & Paykel electronic dryer, Westinghouse stainless steel 420 litre frost free fridge, Fujitsu inverter 2.5hp reverser cycle air conditioner, Pioneer DVD recorder, Samsung plasma TV, Canon digital camera, Hitachi GPS navigator, Acer notebook computer, Whirlpool dishwasher and Breville coffee maker.

The former Retravision store which has been trading since 1997 converted to the Bing Lee brand last month.

Last month, Parker confirmed his eight full time staff will remain on-board at the re-branded store, and they are “enthusiastic about the new look planned for the store and the benefits associated with being a part of the Bing Lee ‘family’".

At over 1,200 square metres, the new Bing Lee store will now stock a huge range of electronic appliances including whitegoods, plasma and LCDs, small appliances, European cooking appliances, computer and IT products, digital cameras and air conditioning.

Bing Lee general manager, Phil Moujaes, said the new store represents the growth Bing Lee will experience during 2007 and in the future.

“It is our 50th year in business and the new store in Port Macquarie will strengthen our presence in the northern region,” he said.

Bing Lee began business in 1957 and is this year celebrating its 50th anniversary with a range of promotions across its 32 stores located in Sydney, regional New South Wales and the ACT.