Les Schirato, CEO of the Cantarella Bros Previously working for the marketing side of the business under his father-in-law and brother, Les Schirato stepped up to CEO and took Vittorio coffee beans from retailing to cafes and delicatessens into supermarkets, discovering a major new sector for the product. Schirato’s branding experience has clearly worked for […]
John Ilhan from Crazy John’s John Ilhan’s crazy marketing ideas have paid off; with Crazy John’s now the largest independent phone retailer in Australia with some 120 retail stores across the country. The late Ilhan was valued in the 2006 BRW Rich List at $300 million.
Peter Alexander From humble beginnings selling pyjamas from his mother’s kitchen table, Peter Alexander has spent 20 years developing his self-named brand to grow his mail order, retail, wholesale and online pyjama empire to what it is today.
Luke Baylis & James Miller from Sumo Salad Two young IT professionals, Luke Baylis and James Miller, took the humble salad and cooked up a multi-million dollar business. Despite their lack of retail experience, the duo are building a fast food brand to rival the big boys. The first Sumo Salad store opened just three years ago, […]
aussieBum’s Sean Ashby In 2001 Sean Ashby invested his $20,000 life savings to develop the aussieBum swimwear range that no Aussie retailer would buy. He didn’t give up, he launched the cheeky brand online and went global. aussieBum is now a multi-million dollar company exporting to 75 countries, and growing 20 percent every quarter.
UK customer experience expert Phil Corke is in Australia to tell us how to sell—and how to shop. Corke is a member of the British innovation agency ?What If! and has the task of identifying how stores can enhance customer experiences to lift sales. Corke says shopping should not be a chore but, apart from […]
Stationery is more than just an essential item for offices and school bags. These days, Smiggle is making it a much-desired fashion item. So read on to learn about Smiggle, the small company taking on the stationery big boys with its bright-coloured and funky range. Smiggle – it’s interesting name and gets people wondering about the product behind it. This is […]
For Tim Anderson, pursuing a childhood interest meant starting niche a business, Madman Entertainment, from his bedroom. Together with Paul Weigard, co-director, Anderson has learnt the steps of growing a niche business. He’s a self-confessed geek, and always has been. But Tim Anderson’s brand of geekiness is a savvy business tool that’s helping Madman Entertainment […]
It’s difficult to catch Australia’s cosmetics icon, Napoleon Perdis—his days and weeks are a whirlwind of appearances, meetings, and travel. But once you have Perdis, the rest is easy, because talking about cosmetics and the rise of his company, Napoleon Perdis Cosmetics, is something the entrepreneur does with great enthusiasm. Although permanently based in the […]
Creative product packaging may be all you need to stand out on the shelf. But coming up with a product package design that screams ‘Buy me!’ isn’t simple. Mia Klitsas tells us how innovative packaging made Moxie a success. In the retail world, the general rule is: create a product, then package it. But when […]
