Tulip Talks

Tulip Talks Episode Number 7 is now out there for you to enjoy!

This week, I had the pleasure of talking to Chris Lude, CEO of Anaconda Group Pty Ltd, who are part of Spotlight Retail Group (SRG).

When Chris joined Anaconda, the business had 34 stores and an ever-growing product range. Pausing to set the long-term strategic direction of the business, an important question was raised: what does Anaconda want to be famous for?

The answer was simple. To be Australia’s first choice, one-stop outdoor adventure retailer, inspiring and enabling everyone to create memorable outdoor experiences.

That vision sits at the centre of an aggressive store roll-out that’s seen Anaconda more than double to 78 locations. Chris and the Anaconda team are seeking to continue growing the business with many more regular stores, expanding its online and social presence and Adventure HQ super stores.

As you will hear in this weeks episode, Chris knew what he wanted to do from a very early age and he worked extremely hard each and every day doing what he loved.

Selling macadamia nuts at 8 years old lead him to packing sinkers in a fishing shop and the rest is history! Luckily it’s all captured in this week’s episode for you all to enjoy. I have no doubt this will inspire a lot of people!

Turns out CEO’s are pretty busy people… ….Not only is it hard enough scheduling time with these high flyers in the first place, business critical things pop up out of the blue that are way more important than podcasting with me! So much so this week I was left stranded without a guest. However, I promised myself I’d be consistent with my episodes each week so on that basis I took matters into my own hands. Old school Tulip Talks this week going back to my roots of how this podcast business all started. Me and only me chatting about whatever comes to mind. In the interest of this podcast being professional and informative I focused on a subject I know inside out…. Recruitment. In this weeks episode I talk about how to chase your dream role, the art of networking, building relationships and how to get the most out of a recruiter. I hope you find it interesting and insightful!

I had such a great time recording this episode at the beautiful Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club and left feeling incredibly inspired by both my guest, and the surroundings!

This week I caught up with Simon Traynor who is someone that I have admired for a long time.

The reason I asked Simon to come on the Podcast was because I get asked all the time about how you become a Non Executive Director of an organisation?

Clients and Candidates frequently ask "Is this something you have to be asked to do or should I be getting proactive and contacting companies about it?"

Simon has had an incredible career working for some amazing brands such as The Coleman Company, Nike, Quiksilver and YETI but made the conscious decision to park the CEO roles and pursue the Non Executive Director route. This has led Simon to sit on the board of some fantastic organisations such as Best Friends Pets, Kookaburra Sport, Paddle Australia and Movember. In addition, he is about to take on his first Chairman role which will be announced next week!

I have no doubt that you will thoroughly enjoy listening to Simons Story!

Graham Dean is currently the Chief Executive Officer of Harris Scarfe who are now part of The Spotlight Retail Group. Prior to this, Graham held a number of senior executive positions at Myer as part of the Executive Leadership Team where he was responsible for the home and entertainment buying division as well as group supply chain. Originally from the UK, Graham has a strong retail pedigree with over 30 years of experience, having held senior positions at a number of high profile UK retail brands including Habitat and Heals.

Eric Morris has been CEO since the inception of The PAS Group in 2005 and has led nine of the Group’s acquisitions and the successful integration of the Group’s businesses. Eric has over 36 years’ industry experience having held senior executive positions in both major international and national companies.

Eric was recruited to Australia by Myer where he held the inaugural position of General Manager of the Private Brand Division responsible for the creation and launch of a number of the successful Myer brands in the market today. Prior to joining Myer, Eric spent 14 months at Walt Disney International as Regional Director, Softlines for Asia Pacific based in Hong Kong.

Prior to this, Eric spent eight years with Reebok International where he held the position of Regional Director Asia Pacific (based in Hong Kong), Regional Director Africa Middle East and Director and General Manager Reebok South Africa. With the amalgamation of The PAS Group and Brand Collective, he was appointed as CEO of the combined group now known as Brand Collective in March 2022.

In his current role as CEO of Brand Collective, he oversees a portfolio of 26 fashion and footwear brands and 15 character licences with a combined annual revenue of more than $600 million

Steve began his retail career at Myer/Grace Bros on the Management Development Program, where he held various roles from Stores Management to Buying during his twelve years with the company.

He then joined Nike Australia where he took on the role of Retail Director. Shortly after, Steve was offered the opportunity to move to NIKE’s world headquarters in the U.S. to head up the retail division for North America, including the iconic NIKETOWN flagship stores.

After seven years with Nike, Steve moved to eyewear giant Luxottica in Sydney to head up the Sunglass Hut brand and lead the entry of the Brand into Asia.

Steve then moved to Melbourne three years later to take on the role of CEO for denim specialist Jeanswest, which was positioned as a key player in the Jeanswear market. He held that position for four years.

Steve is currently the Co-founder and CEO of Retail Prodigy Group, which represents Brands such as NIKE & SAMSUNG via a direct to consumer Retail channel across Australia and New Zealand. RPG has been operating now for twelve years.

Steve was recently appointed as a board member for the Australian Retailers Association as VP and is looking forward to continuing to contribute to the growth of the Retail Industry.

The first episode of my new Tulip Talks series. Daniel Agostinelli began his career at 16, working in a music store. From there he went on to buy his own Music store in Sydney with business partner Brett Blundy & together they went on to build Sanity Music from 1 store in his mother’s Rumpus room.

Daniel sold out of the business after a public listing on the stock exchange in 1997. At 29 years old, he went to London looking for something new. He noticed trend setters wearing “trainers” & thought “this should catch on in Australia”. Daniel enthusiastically rushed back to Australia & bought a broken business of 5 stores named “Ghetto shoes” he re-branded & grew the business from 5 stores to 42 in only 2 years and sold it.

In 2006 Accent Group (a wholesale supplier to Ghetto shoes) aspired to get into the retail space and sought out Daniel to be an equity partner. From there, Accent bought 8 retail stores (Platypus) and again, he re-branded & grew the business.

The business merged with RCG Group in May 2015 & in March 2016 purchased Hype DC. Daniel is now the Group CEO of Accent Group Limited which has 800 stores, 34 brands and over 35 online platforms.

I gave up boozing about 8 months ago and it’s changed my life. I’ve had lots of friends and acquaintances ask me about my journey so I decided to do a podcast about it. This isn’t me preaching about how bad alcohol is, I just realised it ain’t for me.

Freedom Day for us lot here in Melbourne so lots to celebrate. All the usual laughs from me plus an update on my sobriety…. Plus random calls with a few mates to see how they celebrated being out of lockdown!

There’s a big reveal in this episode which isn’t going to sit comfortably with a lot of my friends. Time will tell as to those that will support me in my journey!