Winning weighs in on The Good Guys speculation

octomedia

24th May 2016

Commenting on the speculation that JB Hi-Fi may acquire The Good Guys, John Winning, CEO of Winning Group and founder of Appliances Online, has questioned the usefulness of having 300 stores in the current retail climate.

Last week JB Hi-Fi confirmed it was in talks with The Good Guys, however asserted that at this stage discussions between the two are ‘preliminary and exploratory in nature.’

“JB Hi-Fi has made no decision and nor has it entered into any agreement with respect to the acquisition of The Good Guys,” said Richard Murray, CEO of JB Hi-Fi said in a statement.

Acquiring The Good Guys’ 100-store network would lift JB Hi-Fi’s store numbers to around 300. 

“Considering JB Hi-Fi is in the early stages of expanding into the appliance market the prospect of a takeover isn’t completely unbelievable,” Winning said.

“The acquisition would compliment JB Hi-Fi’s current offering and help it achieve its projected Home store growth. However, I’m not sure how I would feel having more than 300 stores during a time where most retailers want to consolidate their physical footprint as the world adopts online as an alternative channel.”

Steinhoff International, Harvey Norman and private equity firm, Bain Capital, are also believed to be interested in acquiring The Good Guys, which is majority owned by the Muir family.

Competition from Appliances Online and Kogan.com will be a consideration for any potential suitors, in determining if The Good Guys will offer worthwhile growth opportunities.

Meanwhile The Good Guys is pushing ahead with its IPO, appointing Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs and UBS as joint lead managers to oversee its planned initial public offer and ASX listing, although it still remains opens to a potential takeover.