JB Hi-Fi customers could get a discount on products if they simply ask.
While Australians might be more accustomed to haggling when they travel overseas, those skills will come in useful after it was revealed JB bosses have told staff to “take the deal” when customers propose a discount.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Major Aussie retailer directs staff to consider hagglers’ offers.
For more Lifestyle related news and videos check out Lifestyle >>
With the major retailer reporting falling profits, the company is hellbent on not letting its competitors make the sale.
“Our direction to our staff is to take the deal,” JB’s chief executive Terry Smart told analysts this week.
Smart has attributed “heightened competitive activity” for the electronics and home appliances retailer’s almost 20 per cent net profit slump in the first half of 2023-2024.
“Increased on-floor discounting” is also hitting the bottom line, Smart said, but he’s OK with that if it means its rivals are denied a sale.
“We want them to take the deal and let us (management) worry if it’s (profit margin) a bit skinnier than maybe it should be,” he said.
“But we would rather bank those dollars than let somebody else bank those dollars.
“So in summary, it’s up to the staff.
“But it is driven just simply by how competitive the market may be.
“If they’re (customers) going to a competitor’s store, getting a price (and) bringing it into us, we tell the staff, take the deal.
“Move on, move to the next customer.”
JB announced on Monday total group sales were down 2.2 per cent to $5.16 billion in the six months to December 31, compared with the previous corresponding period.
Net profit fell 19.9 per cent to $264.3 million, and the company cut its interim dividend by a similar percentage, to $1.58 per share.
E&P Capital retail analyst Phillip Kimber said the retailer had beaten expectations by 5 per cent to 6 per cent, and its January sales momentum was better than expected — up 2.5 per cent for JB, and down 2.2 per cent for the JB-owned Good Guys.
“The stronger-than-expected result continues to highlight JBH’s good performance in tough operating conditions,” Kimber wrote.
Sales in JB’s Australian stores were up 0.7 per cent to $3.62 billion, with same-store sales up 0.1 per cent, driven by demand for mobile phones, games hardware, small appliances, white goods and services.
Sales at The Good Guys were down 9.9 per cent to $1.39 billion, with home appliance trading resilient while consumer electronics sales dipped compared with the elevated demand in 2022.
In New Zealand, JB Hi-Fi sales were up 5.1 per cent to $NZ168.7 million ($159 million), but same-store sales were down 1.2 per cent.
The group ended the year with net cash of $488 million. It plans to open three to five stores each year in New Zealand over the next three years.
– With AAP
