By James Wells
SYDNEY: Hitachi has advised retailers to move quickly to secure the last refrigerators, vacuum cleaners, GPS, camcorders and flat panel products in the company’s warehouses, as no further stock was coming to Australia.
Hitachi general manager Geoff Hannaford told Current.com.au yesterday afternoon that there were approximately 1,000 refrigerators left in the market, which he expected to be snapped up by retailers within weeks, if not days.
“The product categories left are refrigeration, vacuum cleaners, GPS units, and there is a little bit of camcorder and flat panel as well.
“We are advising retailers in to get in touch with state managers in each state as we have warehouses positioned around Australia. It makes sense to sell the stock we need to locally in that state.
“Flat panel had a bigger December and early January than we all forecasted,” he said.
He said the other categories were not a major part of the business, due to new models that were slated to arrive soon.
Hannaford said no further stock shipments would be made to the Australian market.
“The stock we have to manage through is not a big priority. The most important thing is to look after the staff so they understand what is exactly going on, the redundancies they have, so they can plan their careers and families moving forward. We are going out to retailers and speaking to them one on one and our state managers will be doing that as well as myself and Michael [Doyle – Hitachi national sales manager].
“All business commitments will be supported and honoured. Any matters outstanding we will manage face to face by the end of March.”