Residentia general manager, Troy Hinchco, has left the appliance importer and distributor and will join Betta Stores (BSR Group) later this month.
This is the first role in retailing for the Brisbane-based industry veteran after over two decades on the supplier side of the industry and will see both the BSR Group retail and commercial teams reporting into Hinchco.
BSR Group CEO Gavin Carter issued a statement to his members on Hinchco’s appointment.
“I am very pleased to announce that Troy Hinchco will be joining BSR as Chief Retail Officer, commencing 17 November. Troy brings a wealth of experience across our industry, most recently having led one of our key supplier partners.”
“Prior to that, Troy held a range of senior leadership roles across other suppliers, overseeing both retail and commercial divisions. Having worked closely with some of the largest retailers in Australia, while maintaining strong connections with franchise networks such as BSR, Troy is exceptionally well-positioned to support our business as we continue to grow and evolve.”
“We are delighted to welcome him to the team. Both the retail and commercial teams will report through to Troy. Please join me in welcoming Troy to the BSR family,” Carter said.
In an excerpt from an internal email to staff obtained by Appliance Retailer, Residentia managing director, Matthew Evans, said he wishes Hinchco well in the new role.
“Troy has played a key role in shaping Residentia over the past two years. He joined with a clear focus on strengthening the business and setting us up for long term success, and he has done exactly that,” Evans said in his email to staff.
“He led with calm, steady guidance through a particularly challenging period and was a constant source of support for the team. We wish him every success in his new role at BSR Group and look forward to continuing to work with him from across the table.”
Hinchco was promoted to the position of general manager – sales and marketing of the Australian arm of the Residentia business in November 2024 following the passing of co-founder Nathan Cary.
Reflecting on his time with Residentia in an exclusive interview with Appliance Retailer, Hinchco referenced the loss of Cary.
“I am very pleased with what the team at Residentia have achieved over the last two years, especially following the tragic loss of Nathan last October 2024. It really speaks to the quality of the people there,” Hinchco said.
“Residentia is demonstrably Australia’s fastest growing independent appliance company and it has attracted some of the industry’s best talent – exciting times ahead for that business.
“Now my main focuses at Residentia are all but deployed, I am equally as excited to join the BSR Group.
“I genuinely think some of the country’s best retailers operate within the BSR network and I’m keen to do anything I can to support them in a super competitive retail environment,” he said.
Hinchco joined Residentia in December 2023 after 13 years at Electrolux. Hinchco first worked with Matthew Evans almost 20 years ago at Think Appliances – at the time, Evans was sales and marketing director and Hinchco was national brand manager.
Think Appliances, originally known for its Powastation small appliance technology supported by Harvey Norman in 2004, became the distributor for Highland, Baumatic and Venini major appliances under the ownership of Phillip Ross.
Appliance Retailer covered Hinchco’s departure from Think Appliances in 2007. Evans left Think Appliances in 2014 to become a director at Residentia.
At an event re-launching the Omega brand with Bing Lee last year – and marking the 10th anniversary of the Residentia business, Hinchco shared some statistics about the size of the business.
“We operate in six countries, have three offices, and we source and distribute 11 brands around the world. We sell 4.18 appliances every minute globally and since 2014, we’ve sold over 10 million appliances,” Hinchco said in June last year.
Hinchco was one of the presenters during an event held with Narta retailers on the first day of the IFA exhibition in Berlin to provide an update on the Omega brand’s progress in the market.
During the Narta presentation in September, Residentia confirmed that since taking over the Omega brand on 31 March 2024, the company has increased its retail distribution from 37 shopfronts to 192 shopfronts and also lifted the average selling price by 144 per cent.