INTERVIEW
PUSHING the boundaries
Declining demand for traditional OP, ultra-competitive pricing and COVID realities are all contributing to Australia’s challenged business supplies landscape. But options for a bright future remain plentiful, as one optimistic independent dealer tells OPI’s Heike Dieckmann
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uick Corporate Australia (QCA) is the third largest B2B reseller in the Australian marketplace, after Winc in the top spot (by some margin) and Complete Office Supplies (COS) in second place. Perth, Western Australia-based QCA is also the largest dealer in the Office Choice dealer group, perhaps a lesser-known fact given its unbranded status in the organisation. CEO Darren Hayes has been at the helm of the reseller for eight years and a member of the Office Choice board for over two. With a background predominantly in the telecommunications industry, he’s been bringing a bird’s eye view to the table that has served the company well in these ever-changing times.
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OPI: Shall we begin with a quick round-up of QCA’s history? Darren Hayes: Certainly. The company started on the West Coast of Australia about 30 years ago as Quick Cup, mainly supporting the canteen supply into small to medium-sized firms. Our owners have many business interests here in Australia and overseas, and they had a real ambition for Quick Cup to grow and become a national operator.
Eight years ago, they completed their fifth acquisition in the country in the office products sector, thereby finally gaining a national footprint with what were formerly several smaller players in the various territories. It was at that time I was brought in to consolidate the business and create the synergies of a nationwide operator. We did that and have had good, steady growth since. There’s another side to the business which is not branded under the QCA name. We have a 49% stake in a company called Kulbardi, the largest indigenous-owned holistic workplace supplier in Australia. This joint venture started about six and a half years ago and has been hugely successful since, with double-digit growth on a quarterly basis. The appetite for indigenous engagement in Australia has grown very strongly over that period. OPI: Is that where the Bibbulmun range Office Choice dealers sell comes from? DH: Yes, Bibbulmun is part of QCA’s and Kulbardi’s indigenous-branded product offering. We bring the majority of this high-volume range in directly from overseas. Where it differs from other products is that every time it is bought by a customer, a percentage of the purchase price goes back to what’s called The Bibbulmun Fund.
