To give WHS a bit more context, I think it is interesting to look at Smiths City sales over the last 5 years.
SCY sales
2012F: $221.0m
2011: $220.7m
2010: $226.1m
2009: $227.0m
2008: $252.4m
I could have included the 2007 sales figures to make it look worse, but even so Smiths City sales are down 10% as the GFC has tightened its grip. Part of the problem is that those people who wanted to buy a $3000 flat screen TV five years ago only have to pay around $1500 for the same thing now. And it is unlikely the customers will take that $1500 saved and get a second set for the bedroom! It would be interesting but probably too competitor sensitive if Smiths City were to release their unit sales figures.
To some extent WHS is suffering from the same problem in their 'consumer electronics' department. The 'consumer electronics' collapse is I think a retail wide phenomena, not an internal company problem.
An ace that SCY holds is that they run their own finance company. The finance arm did grow 10% in FY2011 with revenues up from $10m to $11m. But it is still just 5% of total sales and not material to the future of the company in its own right just yet.
SNOOPY