House That! Warren Martin, the man who sold many West Aussies their first TV, sells Applecross home for $6.1m

Warren Martin — of Archie Martin fame — has sold the Applecross home he lived in for 47 years for $6.1 million. Martin started the electrical retail chain with his father Archie in 1963, and the pair sold many WA families their first television set. He achieved somewhat of a celebrity status as one of the faces of the brand on the nightly TV ads for many years, along with brother Alan. His daughter Kylie Hodgkinson said fans used to shout the store’s name when they saw her father on the street, but he would humbly shrug off the attention. Mrs Hodgkinson said the retail chain started small with a single shop on William St in the city. They could only afford to fit out half the shop so they curtained off the back half. They had to drum up business by door-knocking around Perth. The company later merged with Vox Adeon, which was eventually taken over by Harvey Norman. But for most of that journey, the family lived in the same riverfront home, which she said was an idyllic place to grow up. With her mother Julie passing away and her father now in aged care, it was time to sell. It was auctioned via Mont Property’s Matthew Podesta.