Masters may spell $7m bad news for printers

Printers are expected to lose around $7m in annual Masters wide format print work if Woolworths fails to find a buyer for the ailing company. In addition PMP faces the loss of the Masters 28-page catalogue, which has a print run of 3.3 million in NSW alone. The Masters wide format print work was at one time produced by Sumo Visual, which went bust in November 2014, since then it has been split among several printers. Masters has 62 stores nationwide.

The collapse of hardware store Masters is expected to impact the print industry

The fall out from hardware store Masters is expected to impact the print industry

Woolworths chairman Gordon Cairns says that Masters will be sold-off or shut down. The decision has come months after a strategic review of the business indicated it would take years for Masters to make a profit. The joint venture with US based Lowe’s Companies has cost Woolworths over $600m in the past four years. Woolworths wanted to take on the Westfarmers owned Bunnings business, which has dominated the home improvement market in recent years. The decision to exit the Masters business appears to be welcomed by investors with Woolworths shares increasing by 6.8 per cent at $24.50 yesterday.

Comment below to have your say on this story.

If you have a news story or tip-off, get in touch at editorial@sprinter.com.au.  

Sign up to the Sprinter newsletter

Leave a comment:

Your email address will not be published. All fields are required

Advertisement

Subscribe To Our Newsletter

Join our mailing list to receive the latest news and updates from our team.
Advertisement