2023 has been – and continues to be – a challenging year for all retailers given increased cost-of-living and high interest rates but according to Videopro CEO, Cameron Douglas, that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
“Interest rates get a lot of airtime, but electricity, freight and insurance have outpaced inflation and contributed to a significant spike in the cost of doing business,” he told Appliance Retailer.
“From a business perspective, the only answer to these two crises is to be and do better – to take this time to improve efficiencies, drive productivity, reduce waste and ultimately drive greater performance with an expectation that when this period passes, we are all running better businesses and will be rewarded for that.
“We’ve been challenging a lot of our systems and processes to ensure they are scaleable. Videopro has built and runs an entirely in-house built CRM, ERP and PMO software platform, so our ability to finesse our systems is a bit unique.
“In FY23, group sales increased 17% year-on-year and our NSW business was up 300%. The TV category has experienced a slowdown – likely due to the sheer volume purchased during the pandemic and renovation phase – but the imaging category is being driven by a return to travel after taking a hit during lockdowns.”
This month also marks one year since Videopro moved into its new Brisbane head office.
“Our commercial business performs office fit outs as its core competency, so we have exposure to many of Australia’s best office fit outs. We wanted a place that people wanted to come and built it around different types of work, collaboration and our culture, with spaces ranging from large and mid-sized boardrooms, meetings rooms, huddle rooms and stand-up spaces.
“There are also spaces purpose-built for technical builds and the flow of these spaces allows for seamless movement between the office and warehouse.”
On a final note, Douglas said: “I’m grateful and proud of our teams for their performance and commitment throughout the year. It’s rewarding working alongside so many industry people under one roof. To this end, our goal remains unchanged – to be number one in specialist AV.”