Last week Credit Suisse branded Harvey Norman as the country’s “most expensive” retailer. A leading analyst has said that the new JB Hi Fi Home Stores are significantly cheaper locations for a consumer to shop at for bulky appliances.
CIMB Equities retail director Daniel Broeren visited the all new JB Hi Fi Home store at Moore Park in Sydney and his conclusion was that consumers can save up to 29% shopping at a JB Hi Fi Home compared to shopping in a Harvey Norman store.
Savings on a Nescafe Dolce Gusto coffee system was 20% less than at Harvey Norman, a Simpson clothes dryer was 29% cheaper and an LG refrigerator 11% cheaper, even a basic Sunbeam iron was 19% cheaper at JB Hi Fi Home.
The pricing comparison was done between JB Hi Fi Home and Harvey Norman stores in the Moore Park shopping centre.
“We conducted a price check to determine the appropriateness of ticket pricing, small appliances pricing on average matched the Harvey Norman in the same centre. Bulky appliance ‘ticket’ pricing was, in almost all cases, lower than Harvey Norman,” said Broeren.
Broeren said that small appliances ranged by JB Hi Fi take up less shelf space and are easier to sell in volume, due to their significantly lower price points. This he claimed benefited JB Hi Fi.
“The JB Hi Fi small appliance was particularly good, the range was smaller than a full size Harvey Norman store, but sufficient in our view”.
Last week Credit Suisse in their Australian Consumer Electronics Pricing index labelled Harvey Norman the country’s most expensive retailer when compared to retailers such as Dick Smith, JB Hi-Fi, Kogan Technologies and Harvey Norman for identical products.
The report said that Harvey Norman was consistently the most expensive electronics retailer in the survey. In particular, the report found accessory pricing to be materially above those of its competitors.
Late last year, local consumer watchdog CHOICE panned Harvey Norman because of staff availability to answer questions, product knowledge and returns process. It managed to rank rock-bottom below the likes of Big W, Bunnings, David Jones, Dick Smith, The Good Guys, JB Hi-Fi, Kmart, Myer and Target.
