Former Retravision managing director.
Former Retravision managing director, Bob Scullin, passed away on Thursday 7 November in his home on the Gold Coast, Queensland. Scullin joined Retravision in early 1988 as general manager (which then transitioned to managing director) and he retired from Retravision Australia in 2002.
Former Retravision chairman, Bob Thom said he was an accountant by profession and spent his early professional years in the mining industry and worked as finance controller at EMI Group. When EMI was being wound down, Scullin resigned and purchased two of their music stores in Lismore where he also had a small farm. He became an alderman of the Lismore City Council and subsequently became mayor for a term before moving to Sydney in 1987.
Bob Scullin (circa 2001)
Thom provided the following statement to Appliance Retailer about Bob Scullin:
“I was very fortunate to have Bob with me for almost all of my term as Retravision chairman from August 1987 to 2001. The industry called us the “Two Bob Company”. Bob had many attributes but the greatest was his ability to get six individuals at separate Retravision companies to work as one highly effective marketing and buying company.
“He was well respected by his peers and his counsel was sought and valued, especially his financial experience. Bob was instrumental in establishing Retravision New Zealand and was a director of the company.
Bob Thom with wife Lynn (circa 2001)
“One of Bob’s achievements was to make the annual seminar into the number one seminar in the electrical industry. Once again Bob changed the focus of the seminar to one where both Retravision and industry executives attended 90% of the sessions with guest speakers that were of interest to all concerned.
“Bob’s influence is reflected in the fact then when I retired in 2001, Retravision was a top brand in Australasia with 500 shopfronts and an annual turnover of $1.6 billion. This highlights Bob’s ability as a top negotiator.”