By James Wells
The CEO of Betta Stores Retail (BSR), Graeme Cunningham, has confirmed a large number of worried Retravision members have contacted his company about leaving the embattled retailer.
“We have had a number of enquiries from Retravison stores regarding being part of BSR,” Cunningham told Current.com.au today as he prepares for the group’s annual conference.
"We are working through these enquiries as best we can. We have an evaluation process that we go through, which considers existing stores firstly, the financial status of the applicant and the suitability of the business for the future direction of our group.
“All stores that apply must be in a healthy financial state and must meet our criteria and that of the suppliers with whom they will establish accounts.”
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Retravision retailers contacted by Current.com.au, who wish to remain nameless due to potential “Retravision retribution”, as they call it, have confirmed they have contacted Cunningham and the Betta Stores Retail (BSR) group, which trades under the retail brands Betta, Betta Home Living and Chandlers.
“We are stuck,” one Retravision store manager in Victoria told Current.com.au.
“We have no idea what to do. I don’t want to leave Retravision, but maybe we are going to have to consider it.”
Some Retravision retailers believe that Betta has the most chance of growing its member base in the Eastern states of Australia following the fallout of the Retravision Southern collapse.
The Retravision brand remains the strongest in Western Australia and it is these stores that remain the most conflicted.
“Betta still hasn’t managed to make a dent in the WA market, and I have spent so much money building the Retra brand, I am pained to give that up,” one Retravision WA store manager said.
Over the last few months, BSR has welcomed several ex-Retravision Northern members into the group, including stores in Gympie, Virginia and Keperra.