Poor performance has led Harvey Norman to decide to axe the Clive Peeters and Rick Hart brands, with seven stores to be closed and a further 16 to be converted into Harvey Norman or Joyce Mayne formats.
The news was revealed at the same time Harvey Norman reported a 3.6 percent decline in link-for-like sales for the year ended June 30.
In a statement on the Australian Stock Exchange, the company said the Clive Peeters and Rick Hart brand formats had “not achieved the requirement for ongoing investment by the company.”
“Given this, 16 of the 25 Clive Peeters and Rick Hart stores will be converted to Harvey Norman complexes, 2 will be converted to Joyce Mayne complexes, 4 Clive Peeters stores will be closed and 3 Rick Hart stores will be closed.”
The stores to be closed include Clive Peeters in Bendigo, Dandenong, Thomastown and Malvern as well as Rick Hart in Mandurah, O’Connor and Osborne Park Seconds.
Harvey Norman bought the Clive Peeters and Rick Hart chains from receivers PPB in May last year for $55 million, after the retail chain went into administration due to mounting debt and falling sales.
