By Patrick Avenell
Peter Anderson, one of the first Retravision members to speak publicly about the financial woes facing Retravision Southern in the lead-up to its collapse, will be closing his Anderson's Electrical Service business this Saturday (30 September 2012).
Located on Moore Street in Rochester, near Bendigo, in Victoria, the Andersons have been in the broader electrical retailing industry for almost 70 years.
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The day that Current.com.au exclusively revealed that Retravision was on the brink of collapse, Anderson told 774 ABC Melbourne host Jon Faine that the last few years had been the toughest he had ever experienced.
“Everyone has been doing it very, very tough. I don’t think I’ve seen a retail scene like this ever. We’re a family business, we’ve been in this game for about 67 years," Anderson said.
“I don’t think it’s just in the country, Victoria itself is in a really bad state and I don’t know how to overcome that problem, I don’t know what the answer is.
“[Prices have] been tumbling down for a long time now. I remember selling TVs for $3,000 — and that was only five years ago — and then they went to $2,000, and then they went to $1,000 and now they’re sitting at $500.
“Well obviously you’re not making any money there. You’ve got to be competitive, you’ve got to seem to be competitive enough in a country town and it’s tough on us and it’s tough on everyone else.”