Viewpoint Chris Baddock, CEO, Australian Liquor Marketers

Viewpoint

CHRIS BADDOCK HAS BEEN IN THE ALM HOT SEAT FOR CLOSE TO A YEAR, HAVEN TAKEN OVER AS CEO FROM SCOTT MARSHALL IN 2019. HIS EXPERIENCE BRIDGING THE RETAIL AND SUPPLIER DIVIDE BRINGS A UNIQUE PERSPECTIVE TO THE ROLE HEADING UP AUSTRALIA’S LARGEST INDEPENDENT WHOLESALER AND RETAIL GROUP. HE IS THE FIRST TO ADMIT THAT IT WAS NO MASTERPLAN. STILL, OVER THE PREVIOUS 18 YEARS HE HAS WORKED ACROSS BEER, WINE AND SPIRITS, MANAGED INDEPENDENTS, CHAINS, NATIONAL OPERATORS AND JOINED EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP TEAMS. NOW HE IS TASKED WITH TAKING ALM TO THE NEXT LEVEL.

Words Ashley Pini

What have been your initial challenges and focus since joining ALM?

From the day I started here, a key driver has been to understand better what the retailer wants – primarily so I can better forge partnerships with our suppliers and deliver real solutions and better trading conditions for our stakeholders. I can now have conversations like, ‘Hi guys; if you truly believe in the independents, you need to work with us. Sitting in our office and saying how much you believe, but then going out of that office and doing something different, actually isn’t supporting the independents’.

How can you address issues where retailers may not be working in their own best interests?

We understand this sometimes happens. You do see retail to retail in this category (secondary wholesaling), a lot of which is purchased through big box. If I were an entrepreneur, I’d probably go and do it myself, so I’m not saying to our retailers, stop. I am saying that there are disadvantages to it because the less we put through our network, the less fuel we have to put back.. As a retailer, you also have to cost your own time versus working on your store? But I get why they do it. It’s our job to go to suppliers and put our position, which is, ‘if you can’t control your brand health, then you need to give us a better deal so that we can be competitive.’ If that can’t work, then as a last roll of the dice, if we have to, we will source elsewhere. Not because we want to, but because we have to make sure our retailers get the right price in the market. However, we always allow suppliers to allow us to compete.

How else are you supporting retailers and helping build loyalty?

We are there for the retailer and run the network to support them, so we make sure our core is strong. A part of that is continuing to drive the right private label for the consumer, and to work with suppliers on exclusives. This leads to loyalty in our stores, and avoids getting caught in the spiral effect of retailers offering the “lowest liquor price guaranteed.” There’s a real opportunity for supplies to come to the table and say; “let’s work together.”

What other parts of your strategy are now coming into focus?

A significant part of the strategy is digital. This involves cleaning data, it may be boring, but it’s critical. We are in the throws of doing that now, bringing to life the ‘proof of concept’ of our eCommerce platform. We are very excited by that. We’ll attach loyalty to that as phase two, and we’ll also manage the point of sale systems within the network.

Managing different point of sale platforms must be a challenge?

Correct, absolutely is. But as data becomes more and more critical, you need your point of sale systems to connect to your digital platforms. One of the changes we’ve made is to make sure that we have a team of people who understand what strategies we need to put in place, as well as the required transformation piece.

Another critical component of our strategy is the consumer and making sure we understand what they want from liquor retail. We are extensively surveying the consumer to make sure we are working with the most recent market information. My view is that the retail experience is more and more about convenience. We live in an instant gratification world, driven a lot by digital. Convenience is becoming critical, and this is where we are the strongest. Convenient shopping; the ‘Grab and Go’ proposition.

Convenience and understanding your customers have traditionally been the strong point of good independent retailing. Is that where you see the most significant opportunities?

Well, fair to say the most exciting things I’ve learned since joining ALM is that we have stores that are’ best in class’. The great stores in our network are as good as any store that

you see. We are in everybody’s backyard. So again, there’s a consumer proposition and competitive advantage – which is convenience. But on top of that – it’s service; retailers who love serving customers, that get to know their customer well. Sometimes you watch and see there’s no verbal communication: the customer comes in on a Wednesday afternoon, gets a six-pack or a long neck, or whatever it might be, and the storekeeper sees the car and goes and gets the product out of the fridge. And by the time they’ve walked in, the transaction’s done. And that’s real customer service because it makes the customer feel special. How do you replicate that? For me, you can’t, unless you are the owner of the store.

Is there an appetite to expand the Porter’s brand?

Yes. Currently, there are 27 stores, and we believe we’ll have 39 by next year. Through our budgeting process, we’ll have a look through gap maps to see how many more stores we can lay down. I predict that’s going to be a lot more than 39, but I don’t want to put a number on it because we need to be scientific about which banners we suggest a new site joins. That includes both greenfield sites and some from our network.

What were the key themes of your first conference?

The theme of our conference was ‘purpose, passion, partnership’. It’s pretty easy to describe our purpose: championing successful independence. Our passion is what’s worth fighting for, and the way we’re doing that is through partnership. When I talk about partnership, it’s about the retailer, supplier, and ourselves.

And your biggest challenge to date?

When it comes to challenges, I look more at opportunities. Managing stakeholders in this business is about communication. And the last thing I promised at the conference was I can’t please all the people all of the time, but I can guarantee that when I do not please you, I’ll tell you why. I’ll communicate. So if there’s something I can’t do, I’ll let you know why I can’t do it. When I closed the conference last year I said; ‘I’ve made a few promises, and now I have to deliver.