Electric appliance prices set to rise, JB Hi-Fi boss warns

Australians looking for a new fridge or dishwasher should buy sooner rather than later as weakness in the Australian dollar prompts appliance manufacturers to consider pushing through price hikes in coming months.

JB Hi-Fi chief executive Terry Smart said there was “chatter” among white goods suppliers about rising prices, which are almost certainly set to be passed on to consumers.

JB Hi-Fi chief executive Terry Smart has warned that the price of white goods is set to rise.Credit: Elke Meitzel

“The weakness in the Aussie dollar over the last few months has really put pressure on imports,” Smart said. “No one has done it as yet. But they’re looking to eventually pass that on.”

Smart declined to name specific brands or suppliers, but he said the sentiment was predominantly coming from refrigeration, laundry, dishwasher and other bulky white goods manufacturers.

“It’s not unusual for there to be a price rise with the movement in the AUD,” he said. “If suppliers are going to do it, we’ll be informed in the coming months.”

The chief executive said it was difficult to speculate on how much the retailer would absorb or pass on price increases to consumers, but he vowed to deliver competitive offers. “You can still be sure there’s going to be great deals and people will still be discounting.”

Strong shopper demand during Black Friday and Boxing Day sales helped JB Hi-Fi deliver total sales growth of 9.8 per cent to $5.7 billion for the first half of the 2025 financial year. Australian sales rose 7.2 per cent to nearly $3.9 billion. Online sales lifted 16.4 per cent to now make up nearly a fifth of total sales.

Net profits lifted 8 per cent to $285.4 million and earnings grew 8.6 per cent to $419.9 million. But tough competition has put pressure on gross margins, which dipped by 17 basis points to 21.8 per cent.

JB Hi-Fi launched its Black Friday promotions a week earlier last year to keep up with what Smart told investors was the “whole market moving earlier” as retailers fought harder for a share of the consumer wallet amid cost-of-living pressures.

“It does make sense a lot of times for consumers to wait for promotional events. There’s no doubt about it. Promotions like Black Friday are getting bigger every year; there’s a lot of value to be had if consumers do wait,” he said.

But he said that wasn’t the only time consumers got deals. Floor staff were still encouraged to give discounts to clinch the sale, he said. “They come in, we will do a deal. We’ll negotiate on a price to really ensure we’re their retailer of choice.”

The Good Guys, which is also owned by JB Hi-Fi, had total sales rise by 9.2 per cent to $1.5 billion, driven by demand for floorcare products, TVs, portable appliances, cookware and fridges.

The company has declared an interim dividend of 170 cents per share fully franked, an increase of 7.6 per cent, set to be paid on March 7.

JB Hi-Fi has had a strong start to the year. January like-for-like sales were up 7.1 per cent for the Australian business (compared to 1.7 per cent in January 2024), but Smart said the business remained cautious.

The half-year figures beat some analyst estimates, but the market might have been expecting more, said E&P executive director of consumer and research Phillip Kimber. JB Hi-Fi’s share price rose in the morning but had fallen by 4.4 per cent in afternoon trading on Monday.

“When you see [net profits] up but gross margin down, it alludes to the fact they’ve got higher inventory, higher costs to manage,” said Bell Direct market analyst Grady Wulff.

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