Page 22 - HW FEB 2021
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hard talking
                                                       for the new strategy and gave “unanimous endorsement” of the investment and the plan.
“So I think the foundation is in a really good place to take us forward,” he says.
“Now, it’s all about disciplined delivery and excellence of execution that will see the plan become a reality.
“But the plan is clear and it’s really well supported and endorsed – it’s been a real collaboration.”
PAST AND FUTURE SYSTEMS
Turning from what to how, like many organisations, the Mitre 10 NZ cooperative has grown organically over time, with a variety of businesses and members operating different business models and using different systems.
And, despite having unified those disparate and often legacy systems which, the CEO says, have served the co-op very well, it was high time to look ahead, way ahead.
“If I’d bought a Kingswood back in the era when our business was founded, I doubt I’d still be driving the Kingswood every day today,” says Chris Wilesmith.
Asking “Could our system take us to that 10-year horizon where we are providing fantastic tools for team and a really seamless omni experience for the customer?”, the answer was “no”.
So, as technology partners for the long haul, Mitre 10 NZ has chosen global players SAP, Deloitte
and GK POS, working in partnership
to deliver “world class tools” that
will stay ahead of the needs of team members and customers.
“They can meet what we are today,
what we want to be in the mid-term,
and what we’re aspiring to be,” says
Chris Wilesmith, who is also however
honest enough to acknowledge that there could be changes to the grand plan along the way.
“I’m confident we’ve identified what we know today,” he says.
“Do I think we know everything over the 10-year horizon to say confidently we’ll be ahead of everything at that point?
“I can’t answer that honestly, but I think the framework, the partners and what we’ve identified through our strategic planning and development is right to deliver in the future.”
For now, however, Mitre 10 NZ is still working with and optimising its legacy systems.
“We’ve got to run a business today and we’ve got to keep using the vehicle that we’ve got and optimising the experience. So we’re continuing to do that.
“But we’ve identified the future state. We’ve identified the tools.
“We now have to design and build so that we can go into a test environment, work with it and see that it ticks all the boxes that we’ve identified.”
COMING READY OR NOT?
Looking back now to 2020, a year that most would term “interesting” if not downright frustrating and stressful, what is
Mitre 10 NZ’s view of the last 12 months?
Chris Wilesmith won’t talk numbers, but will admit to being
“surprised and delighted” with trading, despite having started with a negative outlook...
Rewind to March 2020 and, with many Kiwi companies about to go into lockdown, Mitre 10 was not alone in being “pretty concerned about our teams, the customer and the health of our members as we had to shut the doors on our entire network”.
“I think all of us started our scenario modelling based on our experience through the GFC, a period in hardware when there was an immediate slowdown. Businesses lost revenue and it took three years to return to pre-GFC numbers.”
As it turned out, as with many other retailers, with consumers unable and/or unwilling to go in-store, Mitre 10 experienced a surge in online demand which was both a positive and a challenge.
It was also a “very clear call out”, says Chris Wilesmith, adding: “I think many businesses, including ourselves, would say, no, we weren’t ready.”
Another surprise was how long the general upsurge in demand for garden and home improvement products and services has lasted.
Having fully expected pent up demand when the doors opened once again, Chris also expresses surprise at the length of time that demand has remained at an elevated level.
“We’ve got a very healthy business as it stands. It’s not broken, but we’re also hearing a desire from the members to be better now and to be even more successful in the future”
Still, although happy to have seen such a significant and extended period of growth, the Mitre 10 NZ CEO also readily concedes that it has been “a one in 10-year opportunity”.
Given the major disruptions to the global supply chain, has Mitre 10 and the broader hardware channel at large been able to make the most of this opportunity?
“No, I don’t think so,” says Chris Wilesmith.
“We’ve seen global growth in our segment, so you’ve got very big markets pulling stock, and you’ve got decreased shipping capacity coming into our country.
“I really think that the question going forward will be, are we able to get enough [product] to actually meet demand?
“I think it will come down to how effectively we manage our supply chain end to end, from manufacturer to the hands of the consumer or the tradesperson.”
Having experienced 2020’s highly irregular marketplace, faced with an uncertain short term outlook and having already set in train a strategy for the next decade, how does Chris Wilesmith see the year ahead?
“I feel very excited about the year to come, given the strength of our membership,” says this agent of change matter-of-factly.
  20 NZHJ | FEBRUARY 2021
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