W. Neill Chch stores sold

Press, 7 March 1984, Page 27

W. Neill Chch stores sold

Wilson Neill, Ltd, has sold its four Christchurch appliance stores to Lane’s Appliance Centre, a private Christchurch company, the Dunedin group announced yesterday. The four stores involved are at Northlands, High Street, Riccarton, and New Brighton. The New Brighton store was sold to Lane’s last month. Wilson Neill’s appliance store at Bishopdale was closed last year and the music store in Cashel Street was also sold last year to a Christchurch firm, Sedley Wells (1983), Ltd.

Wilson Neill bought the appliance stores when it took over Sedley Wells, Ltd, in 1979. The Dunedin group’s appliance division has undergone restructuring the last three years, to improve its performance. Wilson Neill’s appliance division’s chief executive, Mr M. O. Coburn, said that the rationalising of the division had now been completed, and that stores would be retained at Timaru, Dunedin, Milton, and Invercargill.

The sale of three stores (Northlands, High Street, and Riccarton) plus the Christchurch appliance service section, would be effective from March 19. Six redundancies would be caused by the sale of all the stores and the service section, he said. However, the company will keep its administration office in Christchurch for the running of its finance subsidiary.