By James Wells
SYDNEY: A top executive of a major supplier to the electrical industry has criticised the Retravision business as being slow moving, uncooperative and “in dire straits” and said the loss of a member like RT Edwards “had to happen”.
The executive who asked to remain anonymous, told Current.com.au that the RT Edwards business was the “one burning flame Retravision could hold above their heads in the face of Harvey Norman and every other retailer in the country” and represented “the backbone of the Retravision empire”.
The executive went further and asked whether “Retravision Queensland would ever be able hold a flame above their heads or even walk upright again”.
Current.com.au understands that despite repeated public statements to remove the barriers between the Retravision Northern, Retravision Southern and Retravision Western businesses, the retailer is expected to maintain its fragmented approach to the marketplace as its turnover falls. This fragmentation includes regionally based catalogues and buying meetings, which increases the costs for suppliers dealing with the Retravision business.
Industry analysts today believe the purchase creates more questions for the Retravision business than answers: how will Retravision replace RT Edwards which has been an extremely loyal founding member of the Retravision group for over 40 years?; how will it replace the $100 million in lost purchasing power which represents a large proportion of the company’s turnover?