To get a feel for how this Company perceives appliance and consumer electronic retailing, take a long hard look at their advertising and then ask yourself how this marketing stacks up against the aggressive in-your-face marketing from the likes of JB Hi Fi and Harvey Norman, or even the likes of Bing Lee.
Their TV advertising is like an advertisement for a Government department. Their print advertising looks like the Company is being run by graphic designers, who are more into corporate design than belting out advertising that offers great value deals and enticing consumers into stores to take a look.
Just how bad Clive Peeters marketing is came home to me some weeks ago when in a Saturday edition of the Daily Telegraph there were 4 double page spread advertisements for JB Hi Fi, Domayne, Harvey Norman and Clive Peeters.
Three of those advertisement screamed deal, deal, deal while the Clive Peeters advertisement was testament to a management team that simply don't get retailing and the importance of getting customers through the door.
Last week Clive Peeters announced a first quarter $1 million operating loss. This week they have put on hold the opening of new stores because quite simply they do not have the money to do it and very few people are going to lend them money or even buy into the Company.
Sales for August were down 10 and this rose to 14% in September 2008.
For Clive Peeters the game is over and what the Company should now be looking to do is achieve a trade sale, merge or simply shut up shop because conditions are going to get worse not better.
So who is to blame for this?
