Rick Hart

Rick Hart is a Western Australian businessman and former president of the Fremantle Football Club. Hart commenced retail trading in 1975, and has since been involved in a number of retail start-ups including Rick Hart Group, Kitchen HQ and Hart & Co. He also was chairman of Renaissance Minerals (2010-2013) during its initial public offering.

Early life Hart was born in Merredin, Western Australia in 1944, and grew up on a rural property where his mother and father owned a general store. His early life was spent in the country, tractor harvesting and playing a wide range of sports. Upon graduation from Merredin high school, Hart's initial ambition was to be a journalist, and he applied for a cadetship at The West Australian.

Personal life Hart continues his start-up ventures through his family-owned business Hart & Co, ran in conjunction with his two children Belinda and Michael, and close friend Nicholas Kirby. In addition to managing Hart & Co, Hart remains an avid golfer, as well as supporter of his former club, the Fremantle Football Club. Hart enjoys many weekends on his Serpentine property, as although he has largely retired from the racing industry, he continues to breed horses.

Community service

Hart is a major advocate for the Make-A-Wish Foundation, working closely with the foundation for over ten years and raising over $300,000. In an attempt to raise funds for Lifelines' telephone counsellors Hart hosts an annual "Hart & Co Golf Day". This day involves teams of four competing against each other to raise funds for Lifeline, with tickets costing $550 per person.

Career Hart employed an investment strategy similar to that of search funds for a number of his businesses. This strategy revolved around the identification of market opportunities, scaling of businesses in terms of revenue, market capitalisation, and store locations, then ultimately exiting the firm via an eventual acquisition or takeover.

Rick Hart Group While Hart's retail career was influenced by his parents owning a general store, it was his friend's career that led to his initial venture into retail. Despite Peeter's ownership of the Rick Hart group the retail chain continued to trade under the Hart brand. Peeters was soon floated on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), and Hart remained executive director until his initial retirement in 2009. Following Hart's departure from Peeters, the company, and as a result Hart Group, was purchased by Harvey Norman on 2 July 2010. This eventually led to the closure of all Hart Group stores. As 11 August 2011, Harvey Norman executive chairman Gerry Harvey announced that the Clive Peters brand was "tainted beyond repair". This saw Clive Peters and Hart Group stores either converted into Harvey Norman stores, or closed down and sold off where there were existing Harvey Norman stores nearby. The Perth-based mineral exploration company was a subsidiary of Griffin Minerals, an established mining company with the purpose of acquiring, exploring and developing gold and other mineral deposits. Eventually in November 2016 RNS was delisted from the ASX by a compulsory acquisition conducted by Emerald Resources at 7 cents per share.

Kitchen HQ In 2010, whilst chairman of Renaissance Minerals, Hart also re-entered the Australian retail industry with his new business Kitchen HQ. This business sought to specialise in the wholesale of high-end kitchen appliances. In less than four years, Hart sold Kitchen HQ for an undisclosed sum to Winning Appliances, to build on the latter's online offering in Western Australia. Hart remained affiliated with Kitchen HQ, being a brand ambassador for Winning Group up until 2019, due to his large influence within the Western Australian retail sector.

Hart & Co. , Hart is the executive chairman of the family-owned business Hart & Co. The company's central operation is its appliance showroom. Hart & Co. seeks to differ from competitor showrooms through a value-added approach to customers, including before-purchase and after-purchase cooking demonstrations. The business has one location, in Osborne Park, Western Australia. It is managed and operated by Rick Hart, long time business partner Nicholas Kirby and his two children, Belinda and Michael. Hart's role sees him guiding business strategy, marketing, and key stakeholder relationships, while also assuming the role of brand ambassador due to his influence within the retail industry.

Checkout Factory Outlet In May 2021, Hart began a new business venture, Checkout Factory Outlet. The company is part of Hart Group and builds on the successes of Rick Hart Seconds, a former subsidiary chain that specialized in bulk buys and factory seconds. The company currently consists of one store, located alongside the Hart & Co on Guthrie Street in Osborne Park.

Sports endeavours Fremantle Football Club From 2002 to 2009 Hart was president of the Fremantle Football Club, a professional Australian Football League team. At this time, the club was financially unviable, in addition to only winning 2 of the 21 games in the 2001 AFL season. Hart sought to rebuild the club, emphasising the importance of members and their substantial impact in terms of revenue and financial performance. As a result, membership numbers grew from 23,775 in 2002 to 39,202 in 2009, which was nine years of consecutive growth. In terms of performance, under Hart's presidency the Dockers entered their first semi-final in 2003, as they finished 5th overall in the competition.

Race horses Hart participated in both the racing and breeding of horses. Over his career Jacks or Better had a total of 19 wins, two of those being group one wins, garnering him an 11% win percentage and 44% placement percentage. Ultimately, this saw Hart's original investment of $20,000 produce a total of $913,305 in earnings. This organisation is designed to encourage Western Australians to buy into racing horses or dogs; as Hart describes it, "something which has given him a lifetime of enjoyment". Throughout this period he became one of Australia's highest-profile bookmakers and a president of the Western Australia Bookmakers' Association. In 1989, then chairman of the Bookmakers' Association, Hart resigned from the industry due to the way in which the Turf Club and other aspects of the industry were treating bookmakers in this state. Hart ultimately stayed close to the industry, becoming a member of the Western Australian Turf Club Committee and named apparent heir to the chairmanship of the committee, before being appointed chairman of the Fremantle Dockers in 2003.