There’s something about us; it’s not something you can touch, but you sure can feel it. It’s in all of us, born and bred, and when adversity strikes, we might know what it feels like to fall down, but we’re the first to get back up, because that’s who we are; we’re tougher than the rest, just like Retravision.
— Danny Green gets very parochial talking about Western Australia and Retravision.
It’s a f…ing great TV.
— A sweary Ewan McGregor promoting LG’s new Curved OLED TV.
The dumping of cheap, ‘no brand’ appliances on the market, which in the long-run is an expensive option because of poor quality and lack of functionality, [and] the better quality brand names chasing market share at the expense of average selling price.
— Smeg MD Andrew Cronin discussing threats in the industry.
The meaning of family and relationships is stronger than ever in Narta. Even though we are far and wide, we will continue to stay strong no matter what is thrown at us.
— Steve Nanninga from Mitchell & Brown on the importance group unity.
Can I blindfold myself and recognise your store? If I removed the logo, would I know that I am in your store or touching your product?
— Branding expert Martin Lindstrom on how retailers need to differentiate in the digital age.
We’ve closed a few shops, which is foreign to us, [and] we’ve got no new shops opening, which is very foreign to us. We’ve looked at our business and tried to figure out where we can make a bit of money, and we’re concentrating on whitegoods, small appliances, bedding and furniture. The area we’ve been hit very badly [is] technology, where we were such a big player and still are — things like TVs and computers — that area has made life difficult to us, and we’ve hit rock bottom there.
— Harvey Norman chairman Gerry Harvey reflects on a difficult period for the company.
Our industry is such a face-to-face industry — e-learning goes against the basic principle of how we work — face-to-face training has the most impact.
— Matthew Ahern from Smeg compares training nights with e-learning modules.
This is the best attendance I’ve seen for a Harvey Norman trade night in the last 10 years.
— Ben Maddison from Harvey Norman Caringbah heaps praise on Blanco.
It is hard not to become arrogant when you are uber successful. But it is not our brand that people associate with being arrogant any more. You have to believe in the circle which follows success: arrogance, failure and humility.
— Carl Rose’s provides an interesting assessment of Sony shortly before his departure.
Consumers have been conditioned to think that they can buy small appliances for less than a cheap bottle of wine. The expectation might be ‘if it lasts for 12 months I’ll be happy’ but in reality, repeated product recalls at the lower end, coupled with safety concerns and performance issues make products from reputable brands like Kambrook a much smarter purchase.
— Adam Tacey takes aim at retailers playing supplier.
The safety of the products our customers use is of paramount importance to us which is why we ensure all our products go through multiple quality assessments. Where a fault is found…we take steps to investigate and rectify those issues.
— Woolworths responds via a statement to one of its numerous appliance recalls in 2013.
At the end of the day, we’re not selling paperclips — it’s a sexy, awesome product.
— Samsung director of AV Brad Wright reminds retailers to focus on features.
I think one of the challenges is there was a lot of confusion with Windows 8. My personal view is that [Microsoft] confused the market with a couple of different flavours.
— Toshiba Australia MD Mark Whittard explains the stalled launch of a new OS.
It is true that the business has declined from 400 stores to less than 30 stores, but Narta felt that there was merit in obtaining the brand.
— Narta chief operating officer Michael Jackson defends the decision to acquire the Retravision brand.
I wouldn’t say we’re happy.
— Former general manager of Harvey Norman’s Technology and Entertainment division Ben McIntosh shares his views on suppliers going direct.
The old guard would have been my Dad eight years ago. Now the old guard is probably most of my competitors who were quite slow in getting online. And I think that now they are all online, we’ve been happy to be quite public about our success.
— Winning Group CEO John Winning talking ’bout his generation and the move online.
Some might see it as flattery, I find it treacherous.
— Imitation is not the sincerest form of flattery for Sir James Dyson.
I need a break.
— Outgoing David Jones CEO Paul Zahra on the rigours of life at the top.
If the world would run as smoothly as 2nds World does, it would be a very lovely place to live.
— 2nds World MD Peter Hammerman dreams of a better tomorrow.
When we came across to Betta, we worked out that we weren’t on the best price with Retravision, so we were sort of out of the ball park. And when you’re matching prices with Harveys and everybody else, your profit is nowhere near what it should be.
— Ian Taylor of the now closed Taylor’s Electrical in New South Wales’ Hunter Valley offers some Retravision hindsight.
Move is a brand new concept store which is a fusion of fashion and consumer electronics that we like to call, ‘fashtronics’.
— Dick Smith throws out the dictionary with the launch of its new concept store.
As the operator and shareholder of Warehouse Sales Wodonga, I was completely unaware of the circumstances leading to the unexpected closure of Warehouse Sales Wodonga. The action, initiated from Warehouse Sales head office, came as an unexpected and startling revelation.
— Anthony Cowan reveals his distress over Warehouse Sales’ sudden liquidation.
A few years back, everyone wanted these ear canal ones that you can stuff into your brain and now that is out of fashion again, because people want a necklace feel to their headphones now.
— Sennheiser Australia MD Bjørn Rennemo Henrikson takes a dim view of those very uncomfortable and impractical canal-style earphones.
Featured Image: Ewan McGregor at the launch of LG’s new TV range.