Company enhances offering with acquisition.

Godfreys’ decision to acquire New Zealand’s eco-friendly commercial floorcare specialist, The Service Company (TSC), is good news for the industry as the retailer moves swiftly to fight back after reporting a 16.7% slide in first-half profit to $4.5 million in February.

The decline in profit was attributed to a poor response to changing trends in the floorcare sector, including demand for stick vacuum cleaners, as well as a rise in the cost of doing business with nine store openings and three stores brought back under company ownership.

Godfreys chairman

Godfreys chairman, Rod Walker

The acquisition means Godfreys will roll out eco-friendly cleaning products across its retail network of 223 stores in Australia and New Zealand as consumers shift to a more environmentally-friendly approach when it comes to vacuuming.

In a statement to the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), the company stated, “The acquisition will provide a springboard for growth in the highly fragmented $500 million part of the commercial cleaning sector in which Godfreys operates.

“Godfreys will have access to TSC’s unique and highly complementary product range, particularly in the growing environmentally friendly space. Godfreys has also secured the services of TSC owner and well regarded operator, Ian Jemmett, who is a prominent operator in the New Zealand commercial cleaning market and has a strong reputation as an innovator and experienced operator in the field.”

Commenting on the company’s results and acquisition plans, Godfreys chairman, Rod Walker said, “This acquisition takes our commercial cleaning business to the next stage in Australia and New Zealand; this is an exciting opportunity for us to scale up our operations and bolster our product offering in this space. Commercial cleaning is a market that is experiencing good growth, and TSC brings a vast range of highly complementary, environmentally friendly products and a strong client base to our business.

“There is a growing trend towards environmentally friendly products and this will be a significant enhancement to our offering. We look forward to developing this side of our business further and to capitalising on the growth in this market with an innovative product range,” he said.