s like before you joined, and what were the key changes you made from the get go? PB: When I joined, we surveyed over 1000 customers, asking what was important to them. The first thing they asked for was range and quality. To be honest, with my background [as a Coles executive] I thought the biggest priorities would be convenience and price, in that order. We had to change our strategy to focus more on delivering that requirement of range and quality for our Australian customers, and that’s what we’ve been focusing on every day since. Be it a swag, a tent or a cooker, people don’t want to be let down. Customers were asking for a much broader range than what we were stocking in 2019. Back then, we had around 8000 SKUs. The superstore in Townsville now has 29,000 SKUs. It allows us to get our range to customers across Australia via online orders, as well as in the store itself. We’ve really focused on putting the right products in the right stores across Australia. Source: Supplied IR: Tell me about BCF’s target audience. My perception is that it’s predominantly hardcore campers and fishers, mostly men. Is that the case, or is it broader than that? PB: No, it’s much broader than that. It’s from entry point to families who are serious about outdoor leisure and want to power up their ute or caravan, to off-road enthusiasts and fishers who spend every Saturday and Sunday out on the water. IR: Can you tell me about the new concept store in Townsville? PB: When we asked our customers what they wanted, they said that the shopping experience was critical to them making a purchase. First, we had to get in all the products they wanted, so we’ve been working with trade partners across Australia and around the world to increase our range. Once we’d done that, a great opportunity came up to expand our flagship Townsville store. We’ve upgraded from 2700sqm to 5500sqm of pure outdoor leisure products. We’re adding more products every day but we’ll shave that as we learn what our customers want in Townsville. Our mission is to create the greatest outdoor leisure store in the southern hemisphere. The Townsville store represents the modernisation of our brand. It’s great to bring the brand into the next decade of outdoor leisure retailing. Aspects of the superstore format will flow through the 150 stores we have today, and will impact the 200 stores we’ll have by 2027. It will set us up for success over the next 10 years. IR: Can you discuss some of the features of the store, such as the boat and the mural, as well as the different sustainability initiatives? PB: We can attach products to the boat to show customers how they work, and how these products will make their leisure activity simpler. We’ve got other store features, too, such as the caravan, 4WDs and the hardcore camper. All these display features have products that can be attached to them, so customers can see what they do, and visualise what their BCF setup could look like. Further, a key aim for the store was for it to be sustainable. This includes everything from the 400-plus kilowatts of solar connected to the roof – which powers the store – down to the T-shirt I’m wearing, which is made from 12 plastic bottles, and the low-impact cleaning materials that we use in this store. All these initiatives will shape a more efficient and sustainable future for BCF across Australia. We’ve also been working with the local Indigenous community in the recruitment space, as over four per cent of our team comprises Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander folk. The mural is a sight to behold. Commissioned by Stephen Oliver Sailor, it depicts a rainbow serpent roaming the land, river and ocean. That could not be more suited for BCF. Our strategy is to open more stores in regional Australia, and there’s no better area to support Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander people. We’ve got fishing guides who are BCF team members, and they know the waterways incredibly well. We certainly want them on our team. Photo by Josephine Carter IR: How important are these sustainability initiatives to BCF’s financial performance? PB: It’s absolutely critical for the future of BCF. It enhances the playground that our customers use. Whether it relates to the ocean, the rivers, or the land, these initiatives are important to our customers, and to the communities that we work with. For instance, we work with OzFish Unlimited because they are protecting the waterways of Australia for years to come. In my short three years in the role, we’ve been dragged through drought, bushfires and a pandemic, and we’ve had flooding in Victoria. It’s important that we’re supporting organisations that are protecting those areas, in part because it’s where we do our weekends and weeks off. We want that to continue for many years. IR: How is the new superstore going just after its launch in November 2022? PB: We’ve been trading for five weeks [at the time of this interview], and it’s outperformed our expectations. We’ve also performed well in every area of the business, rather than in one particular range of products. Whether it be power, 4WD, or our expanded ranges in fishing and boating, it’s great to see Townsville resonating with the brand. IR: Is there something unique about Townsville that makes it a good spot for the concept store? PB: It was already one of our largest stores before the expansion, and it was performing very well. But, there are many towns across Australia where a store offer will have a strong impact and benefit the community. So I can see quite a few superstores right across Australia. We’re pleased to be working on getting the most appropriate range of products into towns that BCF doesn’t serve today. We need stores in those towns, and we’ll continue to grow that strategy, which will allow more team members and customers to enjoy the brand in the years to come. IR: Can you discuss the expansion process, and how you think cost-of-living pressures might affect this expansion? PB: For any town that has a population north of 10,000, and has water and campsites, why wouldn’t we want to be there? Echuca, Whyalla and Margaret River were among the first stores that we trialled regionally. We installed a small store with a great online and click-and-collect offer. It’s performing well, because it’s got a strong and relevant assortment of products for that catchment. Moreover, the majority of the 29,000 SKUs in the Townsville store can be purchased via click-and-collect in Echuca, or other regional stores across Australia. To offer that service, we need a BCF store in these places. The stores don’t need to be big, but we need to have a presence. As far as the downturn in the economy, it kind of plays to us. People will likely spend less time going overseas and focus on their own backyard. The pandemic helped us realise what’s in Australia, and there are more people engaging in outdoor leisure activity across Australia as a result. Source: Supplied IR: Can you discuss the focus on regional areas and the potential challenges involved? PB: We’ve surprised ourselves with how many products we can get into a small store. We don’t need a large store to succeed in regional areas. What’s important is learning how to merchandise a lot of products in a small space. It doesn’t matter if it’s a 600sqm store in a town with a small population, we can provide a strong customer experience in many of our stores by displaying products efficiently and flexing our space, when relevant. For instance, during the winter period at our Bayswater store, we reduced our camping space and increased the room for apparel, as this line was more relevant at that point in time. These strategies provide a huge opportunity for us to get the right products to customers across Australia. IR: I’m also curious about the e-commerce side of the business. Are you able to sell large products online? PB: I have been amazed at what’s sold online at Townsville. For instance, we’ve got metre-and-a-half sized fenders that are selling online. Our focus is to upload as many SKUs as we can, so we can get them to our customers. IR: Did the pandemic lead to pent-up demand? PB: During the first lockdown, things obviously dropped off. But, as each state came out of Covid-19 restrictions, it renewed our customers’ desire to be outdoors. IR: And in terms of your personal leadership and management approach, did that change during or after Covid-19 restrictions? PB: Resilience is important, but we need to be willing to adapt. As much as possible, I try to support the team in making mistakes and learning from them. I urge us – in an agile way – to keep taking risks and learning what our customers value. If customer values change, we need to shift accordingly. Be it through sales or feedback, they’ll quickly tell us what we’ve got right and what we’ve missed. Every month, we are sitting with our customers in-store, having a snag, and talking with them. We’ve got 2 million members and we’ve been from South Australia up to Townsville, listening to our customers and finding out what we need to change to meet their needs. You’ll quickly find out what they want. IR: You mentioned that there have been a number of extreme weather events over the last few years. Can you discuss the strategies in place to deal with the effects of climate change? PB: Absolutely. We’ve got a very clear plan for what we need to do to protect the environment and the world that we live in. That’s why we’re emphasising our sustainability initiatives with the likes of the Townsville store and the work we’re putting in place with the local community. We’re constantly looking at the packaging and cleaning material we use and putting solar and air curtains in our stores. It’s so important. IR: Focusing on you now. You mentioned your love of the outdoors. Why do you love it, and what are some of your favourite spots and experiences? PB: My first recommendation would be Fraser Island. I love that place. Lake McKenzie on the island is paradise for me. I love camping, and when you can hear the sea crashing on the foreshore while cooking great food, truly, I don’t think anything beats it. But equally, we camp inland. Recently, we went to the hot springs in Charlotte Plains. You’re truly out in the bush with great Australians. It’s just phenomenal. I was previously into swags, now I’m right into rooftop tents. We’ve got water and gas, and we cook. I’ll do a bit of fishing if there’s water around me. I’m away every third week going somewhere. Even if it’s local on the Sunshine Coast – it doesn’t get any better. This story first appeared in the February 2023 issue of Inside Retail Magazine.