JB goes slow on takeover of chain

JB Hi-Fi chief Richard Murray says he will take a “light touch” approach to integrating The Good Guys as the retailers focus on Christmas sales.

Further integration of back office, supply and other operational systems at The Good Guys — bought by JB Hi-Fi this month for $870 million — would be held back until after Christmas.

Mr Murray said in Melbourne yesterday there needed to be a discussion about penalty rates in Australia, particularly given Saturday and Sunday rates were different, despite the fact many people viewed the days as similar.

“From my perspective, the reason you get penalty rates is because we disrupt your weekend and I don’t see a lot of difference between Saturday and Sunday personally,” he said.

Once the acquisition was completed, towards the end of the year, and Christmas was over, JB Hi-Fi would accelerate its integration of shared functions, Mr Murray said.

“We are just gently easing into it, so the biggest focus for both businesses is delivering their Christmas promotional plans,” he said.

“At a store level, the integration is quite minimal . . . at the support office and in supply chain, commercial, there are opportunities to come together and work smarter.”

Mr Murray had previously said The Good Guys brand would be retained.

Turning to industrial relations, he said Australia needed to maintain its innovation, with regulation sometimes getting in the way.

Mr Murray said staff who worked at the weekend deserved penalty rates, but it was worthwhile to discuss differing Saturday and Sunday rates.