Independents' Day: Pac Brands
MELBOURNE: Multinational wholesale group Pacific Brands has responded to market pressures by implementing a far-reaching overhaul of its relationship with independent retailers.
Dubbed 'Small is Beautiful' the initiative will see the listed group restructure its underwear and hosiery business - including high recall brands Bonds, Berlei, Playtex, Holeproof, Leona Edmiston hosiery and Voodoo - in a move it is claiming will "revolutionise" the way it deals with independents.
In making the announcement last week, Pacific Brands group general manager underwear and hosiery and CEO-in-waiting Sue Morphet said the move reflected the power shift towards consumers endemic to today's saturated market. This was further supported with data from research company Ozscan which showed a 10 per cent consumer trend swing in favour of local strip shopping, Morphet said.
As part of the overhaul independent channel managers had been appointed to newly created roles across each of the underwear and hosiery brands, while online stock replenishment and tracking system Brandsnet had also been established.
Brandsnet would allow independents to access a suite of facilities including viewing and ordering stock, tracking and paying accounts and creating customised promotional material. A new service structure encompassing three levels had also been introduced; with Platinum, Gold and Silver services targeted respectively at major brand supporters, those with the potential to become major brand supporters and small but significant brand stockists, Morphet confirmed.
According to Pacific Brands general manager of independent retail sales Ian Everett - appointed three years ago with sole responsibility for the independent retail sector - the re-structure was the culmination of a 12 month in-depth review.
While declining to put an exact figure on investment in the move, Everett said the overall cost - including implementing Brandsnet - had "easily run into the millions", reflecting its significance.
"Forty seven per cent of [Pac Brands total] business is accounted for by independents and specialty stores, with around 25,000 independent retailers servicing the entire business and more than 6000 independent customers on a brand-specific basis across the underwear and hosiery division."
As well as comprising the wholesaler's single largest client channel, independent retailers possessed "unmatched levels of product knowledge while representing the last bastion of true brand stewardship," he added.
As Pacific Brands' largest single division, the underwear and hosiery businesses had spearheaded the re-structure, which was expected to roll out across all divisions in due course.
Everett described the overhaul as "a new chapter" for the company.
"I think it's significant that for Sue Morphet, who is CEO-elect [last month saw current CEO Paul Moore announce his intention to retire by year end] this is a declaration of intent and a recognition that independent retailers need to become the storytellers about our brands. "The point about this is that if we help our independent retailers succeed we'll succeed too."
Having consulted with telco Optus and drinks brands Coca Cola and Fosters during the review - all of which have successfully wooed the independent retail sector - it was hoped Pacific Brands would provide a new best practice model to the apparel industry, Everett said.
"As far as I'm aware this is unprecedented in our industry. We've been focusing on serving our own retailers and looking internally at how to improve our operations, but when you step back and take a wider view the story gains some weight; Pacific Brands is the number one supplier to David Jones for example. So from a market point of view this kind of total overhaul and re-think is very significant."
By Belinda Smart