By Claire Reilly
Leading Appliances’ last remaining Sydney store is staying strong in its local area, despite the recent upheavals in the industry. But the proprietor has called on the buying group to support its new members or risk going the way of Retravision due to a lack of consumer awareness of the retail brand.
David Hunt, proprietor of Rozelle Electronics World, has been with the retailer for close to 18 years and has seen it change hands from Retravision New South Wales to Retravision Southern and, more recently, to the newly created Leading Appliances, part of the Leading Edge Group.
Despite the changes, Hunt said the retailer had managed to retain a steady clientele, made up of loyal locals and consumers from further afield who have been brought to the store in Sydney’s inner west due to the increasing number of closures around other pockets of Sydney.
“In the old days you could be guaranteed of every customer in your local area, but it has spread out a bit more — we’re getting customers from other areas now and you’ve lost a few customers from your local area,” said Hunt.
“The number of electronics retailers in Sydney has thinned out considerably, and so people are having to travel further. If they want to find a store to physically go inside and see a product, the footprint is now that much wider.
“There have been a lot of Betta Electrical stores that have gone, a lot of Retravision stores have definitely gone, and a lot of independents. And you find that in some of the shopping centres, the big boys have actually gone too because of the rents. Gerry Harvey and Bing Lee have closed stores, we’ve seen Sony leave World Square and the Sony shop at Drummoyne is gone because they couldn’t make a go of things. That’s why people are travelling now.”
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Although his store is now no longer a Retravision, Hunt said it was of little consequence to the customers that have continued to shop with him.
“Things have stabilised and people have forgotten the Retravision brand already," he said.
Despite this, the Leading Appliances group would have to work hard to do the right thing by its new membership, according to Hunt. He maintained that for the fees members had to pay, stores will want a return on investment.
“It’s the price and the actual drive and initiative that will be important to us if we’re going to be paying this sort of money [in membership fees]. We’d be wanting to see a strong commitment by the buying group in Sydney.
“I’m sure they’re trying as hard as they can but we can’t lose sight of that goal, because that’s where Retravision Victoria failed. They inherited us from New South Wales and they couldn’t really do anything and in the end they fell over themselves.
“There’s no point in being part of a buying group unless you’re advertising. We’d be looking at Leading Edge to get other players in Sydney and, for the amount of money that’s being paid, we’d be looking to see TV advertising or branding on the end of other manufacturers’ TV commercials, just to make the public aware of that brand name in return for the money that we’re paying. We’d want radio spots, and that’s very important.
“Otherwise it’s all for nothing.”