StateWest expands branches and members

WHILE the major banks have been closing branches, WA’s second largest credit society has quietly been expanding its suburban presence.

StateWest now has 11 branches and offices in WA.

The latest branch is in Westfield’s Galleria shopping centre in Morley.

Marketing manager Tony Romano said the aim was to make the branches look as little like a traditional bank as possible to sell StateWest’s products and services.

Mr Romano said the retail concept was initially foreign to the culture of StateWest, which had traditionally been a government employees’ credit society, but had grown in favour with the staff.

Interior design firm Interior Australia was commissioned to create branches that showed StateWest was a modern and dynamic company, yet one that retained its customer focus.

“We developed a store layout to allow customers to move freely and comfortably, avoiding the feeling that they were just another face in the long queue,” said Interior Australia’s senior design architect Alan Pettigrew.

Going against the trend appears to be working for StateWest.

The Society has 40,000 members in WA and has been growing at between 15 per cent and 20 per cent over the past five years and has about $365 million under management.