By James Wells

WODONGA: The owner of the 2004 Betta Electrical store of the year and a pioneer of the BSL Superstore concept, Anthony Cowan, has announced his two stores will join the Narta group effective from 1 November.

The two stores will continue to trade from their existing sites – the 1,200 square metre location at Wodonga and the 1,150 square metre store at Lavington — and operate under a new brand, ‘Your Electrical Superstore’.

Narta managing director, Kay Spencer, said that the addition of Cowan’s two stores which have a strong range of cooking and air conditioning as well as many other major appliance brands is a good match for her group.

“Anthony Cowan’s stores, like Whitford’s, adds further strength to our dominance in cooking and major appliances,” Spencer told Current.com.au

“This is a business that is a very strategic regional area and the stores and their model mix is very much in tune with that of many of our members. Even though the stores are located in a regional area, it has a profile that many of our larger members offer to the consumer in metropolitan areas. It offers service, range, best brands and a model mix that is skewed from mid to top end,” she said.

Cowan said he is sad to leave the BSL group after seven years.

“I regret the whole situation. I have some great relationships and many friends and those times will be remembered. It is time to move on in the next stage of our evolution,” Cowan told Current.com.au

In joining Narta, Cowan in many ways is re-joining two members that helped nurture his growth in the industry – Clive Savage who started two existing Narta members Clive Peeters and more recently Clive Anthony’s as well as John Wipfli’s Warehouse Sales.

Cowan started working with Myer in 1986 after securing a retail cadetship in the Albury store. After 14 months in this role, he started a three-year stint with Warehouse Sales in Wodonga Plaza.

In 1990, Cowan moved to Melbourne and worked with Clive Savage after he bought Dandy Sound and helped open the Clive Peeters store on the lake at Ringwood.

After 12 months working with Clive Savage, Cowan moved back to Wodonga and was assistant manager at Chandlers for three years.

After 12 months in radio advertising, Cowan worked at Highpoint Retravision in Wodonga until he opened his Betta Electrical store at Wodonga in 1999.