JB Hi-Fi has completed its $47.8 million acquisition of a 75 per cent stake in kitchen, laundry and bathroom products chain E&S Trading.
“We are very pleased to have successfully completed the acquisition of E&S and are excited to welcome E&S to the JB Hi-Fi Group,” said Terry Smart, JB Hi-Fi group chief executive.
The premium appliance market is set to get a shake-up with JB Hi-Fi snapping up the Melbourne-based retailer E&S Trading in a move that will see the big CE and appliance retailer go up against Harvey Norman Commercial, Winnings and Bing Lee’s Signature stores that sell premium appliances to the building industry.
E&S Trading has 10 showrooms in Victoria and one in Canberra. It will retain both its brand and unique operating model, and operations at all current stores will remain unchanged.
Founded in 1962 by Bob Sinclair and his two brothers, E&S Trading has annual revenues of $230 million and earnings of $7 million.
“This partnership will allow us to expand our reach and continue delivering exceptional service and top-notch products to our valued customers,” said Rob Sinclair, managing director of E&S Trading, who is reported to continue leading the business following the acquisition.
JB Hi-Fi’s last major acquisition was in 2016 when they paid $870m to purchase The Good Guys.
JB Hi-Fi recently rewarded shareholders with a special dividend of 80¢ a share after delivering a better-than-expected profit.
Earnings before interest and tax fell to $647.2 million, but that beat the expected fall of 18.5 per cent to $626.6 million by the market. Net profit fell 16.4 per cent to $438.8 million.
Overall, JB Hi-Fi group sales fell 0.4 per cent to $9.59 billion in the 12 months to June 30, higher than what analysts expected.
Total sales increased by 1 per cent to $6.61 billion, with comparable sales up 0.6 per cent, driven by continued customer demand for technology and consumer electronics products.
