Electrolux Home Products has confirmed that it has not commenced fumigation of its warehouse in Sydney which remains closed following the outbreak of the dangerous Khapra Beetle last week.
If the Khapra Beetle makes its way into the rural and agricultural sector, it has the potential to incur up to $15.5 billion worth of damage to the Australian economy.
A statement issued to Appliance Retailer after the close of business on Monday by Mark Goodwin – Electrolux Home Products general manager of health and safety and communications provided an update regarding the Crossroads warehouse in Sydney.
“We have only just received notification from the Department of Agriculture, and we anticipate that the fumigation process will be undertaken shortly.
“We hope to be up and running very quickly along with our retail partners. We should be able to confirm this tomorrow,” the statement said.
Electrolux Home Products Australia general manager and head of sales for Australia and New Zealand, John Featherstone, provided a comment to the media.
“Our current situation following this unfortunate and unforeseen issue involving the Khapra Beetle is that our Crossroads Distribution Centre remains closed.
“We are working with both the Australian Government and of course our retail partners closely to ensure we are able to facilitate a resolution as soon as possible.
“We will continue to assist the authorities as they conduct their investigative process. Once we have more information available, I look forward to sharing it.”
JB Hi-Fi chief executive officer, Richard Murray, told Appliance Retailer that the Good Guys stores in Canberra remain closed.
“We are working with the Department to get the stores and the distribution centre in Marsden Park in Sydney open as soon as possible.
“The ability to ship from store has provided us with a back-up plan. The team was worked very hard all weekend to make sure that we will continue to have customer deliveries.”
Winning Appliances has been contacted for an update on the closure of its distribution centre but is yet to make any further comment.