PRO F I L E
National ambitions and local expertise fuels growth at GNS After celebrating its 50th anniversary back in 2016, GNS Ceramics decided to go to the next level and began making expansion plans. Co-managing directors, Richard Murphy and Jono Stokes tell Tile Today how they did it.
The main image shows an Australian kitchen using larger tiles to emphasise and delineate open space. GNS sees strong markets for subway tiles (inset top) and 150mm square tiles (inset bottom) as well.
I
t might be natural to assume that when a company reaches a significant milestone such as its 50th year in business that the owners and management team might take the time to reflect and “rest on its laurels�. This is not the case at GNS. Instead it set out on a course of the action that would make it the largest tile wholesaler on the eastern seaboard. What was the process involved in the expansion? For example, what was the time frame and how did some of the planning and execution come about? The planning for our expansion began in 2016 after celebrating 50 years of tile wholesaling. During this time, we had built a substantial customer base, our inventory had
grown into the widest in Australia and we had developed a firm philosophy of commitment and service to our customers. We felt it was the right time to expand. This decision was further enhanced with encouragement from many of our trusted customers who in themselves served multiple markets throughout Australia. This was reinforced by several of our factories who were looking for a reliable sole distributor for their products, who could handle the large volumes they produce. The process began with research, site visits and discussions. After this, we felt there was an opening in the Victorian market for a stable, reliable, independent wholesaler. We drew up an initial three-year business plan, and early in 2017, we opened a sales
office that included a small storage facility in Melbourne. From this start, the business has forged ahead, growing year on year and it has recently started to service the South Australian and Tasmanian markets. Due to continued sales growth over the last three years, we have just moved to a much larger warehouse facility to handle the increased volume. This has enabled us to increase our stockholding and maintain our commitment and high level of support to our customer base. In mid-2019, with our operations in Victoria settling in, we started to consider the next largest market in Australia – Queensland. Our 16 www.tiletodaymagazine.com.au | TILE TODAY #105 | 15
