Retravision takes swipe at 'credit risk' members tapping Betta group

Published on Fri, 01/06/2012, 12:18:56

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By Patrick Avenell

The Retravision Southern members inundating BSR Australia CEO Graeme Cunningham with membership enquiries are among a large group of retailers unworthy of credit, according to an email co-written by Retravision WA CEO Paul Holt and Retravision Northern CEO Phil Scarf.

As Current.com.au revealed exclusively this week, BSR, which administers the Betta, Betta Home Living and Chandlers retail brands, has been receiving calls from Retravision Southern members and, yesterday, CEO Graeme Cunningham met with several retailers.

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In an internal email co-authored by Holt and Scarf, the pair describes approximately half of all Southern members as a credit risk and a burden on the group, in what appears to be a counterstrike against their defection to BSR.

“We are aware that there are other buying groups reaching out to steal our business,” write Holt and Scarf.

“At the same time, there are currently at least 50 Retravision stores in the Eastern states that are not considered credit worthy going forward and who have contributed to our current predicament.

“There is no confusion in my mind about why the BSR group are crowing about being inundated with applications from those stores seeking to burden another group.”

Although this email is co-signed by Holt and Scarf, Current.com.au understands that Paul Holt wrote this email, and it is in his mind that there is no confusion.

Holt has previously told Current.com.au that 67 Retravision Southern members had applied to migrate to either Retravision WA or Retravision Northern. Earlier this week, BSR CEO Cunningham told Current.com.au that, “Half of the Retravision members have approached us”.

As there are approximately 100 Retravision Southern members, this means that either the figures being spoken about by the two CEOs are inaccurate or members are making enquiries to join both.




Anyone who has met Graham Cunningham would know he's not one to crow about anything, let alone the predicament these Retra stores find themselves in. It's difficult to blame those retailers now considered "credit risks" for the groups demise any more than the Retravision Southern executives who, under their central accounting system, allowed them to get behind in their payments initially. As a Betta member who went through this exact situation in 2006, I know there's no joy for anyone in this saga and to suggest Graham Cunningham would be "crowing", says substantially more about his accusers than Graham himself. Tread carefully fellow retailers.
Posted by Tony Fleming. 01/06/2012 02:23:58 PM
I suppose the credit worthiness will be measured by the suppliers and associated insurers. It does however beg the question if they are so unworthy of credit now, why has Retravision been retaining them as members and why would they be concerned if they leave. All of Retravison will be scrutinized in the coming months and I am sure some suprise will ensue from this.
Posted by Huck. 01/06/2012 03:08:52 PM
It wasn't many years ago that BSL went down and members scrambled to become Retravisions. BSL wasn't even centrally accounted. The retail industry loses every time something like this happens. Individual staff members, even those in WA, lose too. There are no real winners. BSR gains in the short term until they realise that they are stretched too thinly for resources and the stores become frustrated at the lack of marketing support. A sick industry is bad for everybody.
Posted by . 01/06/2012 05:02:56 PM
It seems to me that the administration of Southern has permitted these stores to be in the predicament they now find themselves in, and I also think it is premature to assess them as a "credit risk", as Paul Holt does not know the exact financial position of all of the Southern stores currently affected, so it seems to me to be more a case of "sour grapes" that these stores would rather join Betta then Retravision WA. Frankly, it tells me quite a lot about how the Chairman of Retra WA is seen by the Southern members.
Posted by Paul. 01/06/2012 05:17:28 PM
I 'm with you Mr Fleming. Seems to me that Paul Holt may be panicking (and slurring others) because the way he conducts himself and his questionable business ethics are well known and Retravision southern members (among others....including NATA) don't want anything to do with him? His planned 'empire building exercise' is not quite panning out as expected. The sooner the western Retravision board wise up, the betta!
Posted by Shannan. 02/06/2012 06:15:20 PM
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