April 23, 2020
The South Burnett’s Radio Rentals outlet in Kingaroy is one of the business casualties of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Radio Rentals owner Thorn Group Ltd told the Australian Stock Exchange on Thursday it would permanently close its 62 Radio Rentals stores and selected warehouses.
The closures include its Kingaroy store.
The move will make 300 full-time and casual staff redundant during the next three months.
Thorn Group said the core of Radio Rentals’ business would continue to operate but said the company intended to switch to a digital business model.
Radio Rentals’ online store will be enhanced with products that “more closely match the needs of the company’s customers”.
Thorn said it had also introduced new credit policies and collection processes as well as reducing head office costs to ensure its business model remained sustainable.
“I am disappointed that we have been forced to make hard decisions regarding our staff and store network,” CEO Peter Lirantzis said.
“However they have had to be made to ensure Thorn Group continues to operate and thrive in the future.
“We intend to re-develop both the Radio Rentals’ digital business model and Thorn Business Finance once the COVID-19 crisis has passed.”
Mr Lirantzis said the group currently had about $40 million cash at the bank and is currently pursuing a range of cost-cutting initiatives and recoveries from which is expects to generate increased cash flows in the coming year.
He said the COVID-19 crisis had caused increased arrears in both Radio Rentals and Thorn Business Finance which would result in write-offs.
Could have more to do with the class action suit. They have just had to payout thousands of overcharged customers and not honouring their $1 rent-try-buy scheme where they misled customers after changing the policy resulting in “make an offer” brought into the $1 buyout scheme.
Some customers well overpaid for household goods not realising their contract was completed yet had continued to be charged the fortnightly “rental” fees on items that they were led to believe they would own outright for $1 buyout.