Day 1

Off We Go

So today the trip finally took off, although it certainly did sneak up on me after a fast paced summer break. We met at the airport check in at 8am which meant a very early morning (not a norm over my summer). Together we waited for boarding and had an opportunity to have a chat and for the most part brag about how excited we were.  After a  short flight we arrived in Brisbane and the beautiful heat hit. Here we are staying at the Ibis hotel and me and my friend Alison are sharing a room (note the excessive luggage)

Super Retail Group

We began our arrival in Brisbane with a short explore of the city which took us to a food court off Adelaide street where a small group off us indulged in some much needed food. Soon after we were back to the Hotel to get organised for our very first company visit at Super Retail Group. After a 1 hour bus trip we were there.

We were warmly invited in to the offices and sat down in a meeting room where The CEO Peter and Marketing Director Kevin preceded with their presentations. It became obvious very quickly that they had tailored the presentations specifically for the topics we are currently researching and we were all very impressed with the information they gave and the success of the Group. 

The group curently stand as the 7th Largest corporate retailer group in Australia specialising in the leisure market being a leader in all of its categories. Impressively they have 11,000 employees across the whole group. We were told that their main focus is on producing and maintaining the most effective business model and culture of the business. 

Peter talked about the fact that business' need to differentite themselves and explained the groups points on differentiation as:

- Products and innovation

-Passionate team members

-Customer Focus

-Core sysems (effective multi-chanelling solutions)

-Speed and discipline

He also spoke about the industry as a whole and the fact that retailers are tending to start making their own brands and brands beginning to sell their products directly rather than through a retailer. With these changes and also changes in the way customers research and shop Super Retail Group was putting a strong emphasis on engaging their customers and creating a seamless integrated experience. 

Peter then passed the presentation over to Kevin and he continued to explain how the group was evolving this seamless integrated process. The main focus of the presentation was about customer engagement and how their group is working to create this engagement both efficiently and effectively. The groups online presence and multi channel retailing was most impressive as they work towards a seamless integrated experience using databasing, personalised offers and good information systems. 

The group was much more advanced than I was anticipating and their websites seemed flawless. When Kevin spoke he seemed to be passionate about the fact that if you are going to enter a new retailing channel you have to be great at it. There is no point entering the new venture if you will do the job at a poor quality because customers will only be disappointed. 

When the presentation was finished me and Michelle presented both Peter and Kevin with a certificate and wine and we made our way back to our new home in Brisbane.  

Evening in Brisbane

Once home we had a short rest and then went out for a group dinner at the Groove train. After we had finished our meals me Alison and Angelica went for a short walk then headed back to the hotel for an early night in preparation for the 5am wake up to come on Day 2! A fantastic first day with a great company and a chance to meet great new people.