CEO outlines turnaround strategy.

Like-for-like sales at Godfreys have continued a negative trend for three consecutive halves, falling 6.2% for the half year ended 29 December, 2017. Revenue also dropped to $84.2 million – a decline of 8.9% on the previous corresponding period.

Godfreys CEO, Jason Gowie said, “It was clear to me when I joined Godfreys that there is fundamental value in the business but there is need for change. During my first two months I have individually met with over 300 team members, visited 70 stores across Australia and met with key business partners, which has given me clear insights into the strengths and weaknesses of the business.”

Key insights outlined in the half-year announcement include:

  • Lack of understanding of drivers of brand choice and customer experience
  • Underweight in growth categories and overweight in declining categories
  • Significant amount of capital tied up in store network – more investment needed in ecommerce and wholesale
  • Gaps in organisational capability – need for culture to better align with purpose
  • Underinvestment in CRM, data and analytics

“The turnaround will require us to drive operational efficiencies and reinvest these savings into five key focus areas – brand and customer experience, product range, channels, people and culture, and technology. We expect to commence investment in these areas from early FY19,” he said.

New leadership team

Andrew Ford remains chief financial officer, Stephen Bennetts has been elevated from his current role of general manager – merchandise to chief product officer, Mari Ruiz is joining the company as chief people and culture officer and a search process is being conducted to fill the remaining three positions.

  1. Chief customer officer – to strengthen position of key brands, improve customer experience and generate ecommerce growth
  2. Chief commercial officer – to expand wholesale distribution, increase share in commercial cleaning market
  3. Executive general manager – store network – to re-shape and enhance company and franchise store network