JB Hi-Fi and The Good Guys are being urged to make a bigger play for Australia’s small and medium business market, with observers pointing to UK consumer electronics retailer Currys, whose in-store business hub network has delivered 20% year-on-year growth, as a model that could be replicated to take on Officeworks in select locations.

The push comes as consumer electronics retailing faces mounting pressure, with brands selling direct and the likes of Amazon stripping share away from the traditional retail channel, and Officeworks moving to a house brand model. Some claim retailers now need to focus on new formats and better in-store merchandising to defend margin.

Insiders claim the small to medium business market is the obvious target, with The Good Guys or JB Hi-Fi well positioned to open dedicated business zones in stores located in areas with high concentrations of SMEs.

The Currys Playbook

Currys, whose business is similar to JB Hi-Fi’s, has just rolled out 10 new business hubs across the UK, taking the total to 70 of its 296 stores, after the offer grew 20% year on year.

Based inside Currys stores, the hubs give SMEs access to dedicated business customer managers, specialist business technology expertise, tailored support built around the needs of local organisations, and flexible ways to pay, including a recently launched leasing service, according to the UK’s Retail Gazette. Each hub is staffed by three to seven dedicated business specialists.

The move has also seen Currys sell subscription-based services alongside hardware, shifting revenue towards stickier, recurring income.

Chris Williams, Director of Currys Business, said technology is fundamental to every business, but choosing, managing and funding it can be complex, “especially for small businesses who typically are not IT experts and do not have specialist procurement expertise”.

“Trusted, local support is important for SMEs to help them make confident technology decisions, particularly when budgets are under pressure,” he said.

Williams said the company chose hub locations based on “strong local demand” in areas that had been “under-served without the presence of a business hub until now”, adding that Currys would “continue to look at where demand exists”.

He said customers need “more than access to great products” as technology becomes more central to business success. “They increasingly value ongoing support before, during and after a purchase, whether that’s advice, flexible ways to pay or help getting new technology up and running.”

Like the UK, Australian businesses are looking “to balance rising costs with an increasing reliance on technology”, according to observers, while facing “increasingly complex decisions around technology investment, cashflow management and operational efficiency”, Currys claims.

JB Hi-Fi Already Has The Foundations

JB Hi-Fi is not starting from scratch. The retailer split its old commercial and IT services arm, JB Hi-Fi Solutions, into three brands, JB Hi-Fi Business, JB Hi-Fi Education and The Good Guys Commercial.

The HY26 investor deck lists JB Hi-Fi Business and JB Hi-Fi Education as channels within JB Hi-Fi Australia, alongside stores, online and phone sales, with TGG Commercial sitting as a channel within The Good Guys.

The division focuses on enterprise, education and government device rollouts, lifecycle services and managed solutions, mobile device management, deployment and after-sales, typically on multi-year contracts with higher customer stickiness. The offer spans commercial sales, professional services, telecommunications, insurance replacement, managed services, loyalty programs, BYOD programs and education products.

On the schools side, JB Hi-Fi Education actively markets to school IT support networks, sponsoring events such as the WA Technical Support in Schools Association conference, while BYOD portals for parent-funded device purchasing are a core plank of the schools model.

Like Currys, the group also targets small and mid-sized businesses, education and government buyers, adding bulk, repeat and contract-style orders alongside household demand.

TGG Commercial targets builders, developers, property managers and insurance replacement on the appliance side, with the recent e&s acquisition strengthening the group’s presence in that market.

The Gap: Face-To-Face In Store

What the Currys model adds, and what JB Hi-Fi currently lacks, is a visible, staffed, in-store destination for local business buyers, rather than a back-office commercial operation.

“For many SMEs, particularly those without dedicated procurement or IT teams, having access to local knowledge and face-to-face support can make a real difference,” Williams said.

With Officeworks retreating towards house brands, observers claim the door is open for JB Hi-Fi or The Good Guys to plant business hubs in high-SME-density locations and capture technology, services and financing revenue that currently defaults to Officeworks, Amazon Business and direct channels.