By Matthew Henry

BROKEN HILL: Broken Hill electrical retail proprietor of 15 years, Peter McEvoy, has shifted his Silver City Betta Electrical store to the Retravision WA group and has also bought the corporate-owned Retravision store in the town.

Located 50kms inside the South Australian border, the 800 square metre Broken Hill Betta Electrical store officially began trading as part of the Retravision group on 1 July under the Best Buy Electrical banner.

McEvoy, who owns the business with his wife Debbie, also negotiated the purchase of the town’s Retravision-branded store from the group, which gives his business an additional 500 square metres floor space in Broken Hill.

The consolidation means Broken Hill, with a population of around 20,000, is now exclusively serviced by Retravision, with few other electrical retail outlets in the town.

The new arrangement comes after nearly eight months of negotiation between the McEvoys and Retravision WA’s Paul Holt.

McEvoy told Current.com.au today that he leaves the BSR buying group on good terms after having record sales last months.

“Betta Stores Limited has been a great support for my business for 15 years now and BSR has also been good since it was formed in October. But it was a business opportunity for us and we wanted to expand to grow the business,” said McEvoy.

“We are bounded by walls – I have retailers on either side of me – so we can’t really add any floor space to the store, and I’m not going to go and build a 2,000 square metre building for a bigger store. This way we get a wider spread by adding the Retravision store.”

Broken Hill, which locals believe may be on the verge of a new era of prosperity if the mining boom comes to town, is also being targeted by Harvey Norman as a potential site for expansion in the next couple of years.

McEvoy believes the additional floor space achieved by having two shopfronts in the town will help him prepare for the arrival of Harvey Norman in town.

The expanded business will also allow the retailer to range new brands and differentiate each store’s offering, which may also introduce Broken Hill consumers to new brands that weren’t previously available in the town.