George keePinG you one steP ahead in business
RECRUITING How to find the right staff for your organisation INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY Are you protecting your valuable IP? WEST MEETS EAST Why Hong Kong is a city for the 21st century
Winter 2011
beneath the mask Fiona Wood talks about life, business and why teamwork is always the answer
Besa Deda
on the connections between black swans and global markets
David Pinches
shows how innovation can pay off even when times are tough
Matt Skinner
gives his tips on how to mix and match your food and drink
10 sales meetings 16 staff meetings 41 client meetings 1 Business Bank
The Business Bank you’ll want to stay with. In the demanding world of business, at least you can rely on one constant to help meet your needs – St.George. With experienced Relationship Managers, we’re able to offer innovative solutions to business problems including mergers, contracts and cash flow. That’s why our business bank customers are more satisfied than those of the big four banks¹, and why we’ve been awarded “Best Service Bank – Corporate & SME” in the 2010 AB&F Awards. To experience the St.George difference, speak to a Relationship Manager today.
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1. DBM Consultants, Business Financial Services Monitor, February 2011. St.George Bank - A division of Westpac Banking Corporation ABN 33 007 457 141 AFSL 233714 ACL 233714.
SGBCBB0450/G_WB_FPC
Welcome
Welcome to
George W
inter is upon us, but it’s far from a season of discontent. In this issue of George we’re focusing on innovation – in thinking, processes, business models and customer service. These are thoughts to warm the heart of even the toughest entrepreneur. Our cover story is a profile of Fiona Wood, a genuinely great Australian. Not only is she a brilliant researcher and a lifesaving surgeon; she’s also a university professor, a canny businesswoman and a wife and mother (of six children). We also take a look at some more great Australian business stories, from Henry Ngai’s fast-growing ABC Tissue to technology innovator Pinches Consolidated Industries and award-winning online retailer VetShopAustralia. And just in case you’re wondering how to take full advantage of your own organisation’s pool of talented workers and their brilliant ideas, we have articles on hiring staff and protecting your intellectual property (IP). Staff and IP are the foundation of any organisation’s success, and I’m sure you’ll find the articles interesting and full of practical advice and suggestions. On the St.George front, we take a look at the global economy and the effect of ‘black swan’ events, highlight our Working Capital Solutions and Auto Finance offerings, and have a ‘Parting Thought’ from our Chief Information Officer (and one of St.George’s champions of innovation), Dhiren Kulkarni. We also have a number of news items regarding St.George’s deeply-held commitment to gender equity. It’s an important journey for us all to undertake, whether as individuals or as members of a workplace, a community and a nation, and I’m looking forward to the transformative effect I know it will have. Finally, I’d like to congratulate the winner of last issue’s reader survey giveaway. Ray Brennan of PPB Advisory will be heading to Huka Lodge for a fantastic and memorable holiday; congratulations Ray! So please enjoy this latest issue of George and as always, if there’s anything we can help you with, just pick up the phone, send an email or contact your Relationship Manager today.
Rob Chapman Chief Executive St.George Bank
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George
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AD
Contents
George
Winter 2011
40
manaGinG editor Michael Butler michael.butler@edgecustom.com.au chieF sub-editor Merran White senior sub-editor Sanchia Pegley
14 04 George reveals
The latest business news, facts and statistics. business essentials
06 The hiring game
Getting recruiting right is critical for any business; here, we canvas the experts and offer suggestions on how to find the best people.
10
The knowledge economy Intellectual property is every organisation’s key asset – and protecting it is just as important as protecting your plant, stock and staff from physical harm. i did it my Way
14
Under her skin
37 Auto finance
St.George’s Auto Finance Solutions provide businesses with flexible car finance options, so customers can get the vehicles they need.
24 High and dry
Pinches Consolidated Industries embraced innovation and calculated risk-taking; now it is reaping the benefits.
St.George has integrated its Trade Finance and Cash Flow Solutions to provide more flexible ways to free up cash and access working capital more easily
28 Pet-friendly purchases
Vetshop.com started out as a part-time operation; MD Mark Perisinotto explains how it’s become an online business with more than $10 million in annual turnover. st.GeorGe says
32 Beware the black swan
Besa Deda explains the impact of ‘black swan’ events on our local economy and surveys likely prospects for growth in the year ahead.
Fiona Wood – burns expert, plastic surgeon, wife, mother, scientist, businesswoman and Australian of the Year – is an exceptional woman on every count. Here, we recount her story, one of hard work and extraordinary dedication.
time out
40
West meets east Hong Kong is a city for the 21st century. An intoxicating mix of old and new, Europe and Asia, it’s an unrivalled gateway to much of Asia.
44 This goes with that
Homegrown wine and food expert Matt Skinner explains his methodology for matching food and drink, helping to ensure you get the best possible match between the two, whether you’re eating Indian or just standing around the backyard barbie.
art director Shane O’Brien desiGner Karen Jacobi account manaGer liz keene liz.keene@edgecustom.com.au adVertisinG enQuiries Nick Mason nick.mason@edgecustom.com.au editorial director Georgina Armour business deVeloPment director Sarah Willmott ceo Eddie Thomas
GeorGe is Published on behalF oF st.GeorGe bank by:
ECM Sydney 51 Whistler Street, Manly, NSW 2095 ECM Melbourne Level 5, 115 Elizabeth Street, Melbourne, Vic 3000
George keePinG you one steP ahead in business
RECRUITING How to find the right staff for your organisation INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY Are you protecting your valuable IP? WEST MEETS EAST Why Hong Kong is a city for the 21st century
Winter 2011
beneath the mask Fiona Wood talks about life, business and why teamwork is always the answer
PartinG thouGht
48 Quiet acheiver
20 Easy as 1, 2, 3
From humble beginnings, ABC Tissue has grown into a major force in its market. We reveal how.
38 Working capital solutions
contributors Kristy Barratt, Besa Deda, Glen Cullen, Gillian Currie, Julian Leatherdale, Sasha Tohme, Nicholas Walton, Sasha Westwood
10
St.George Bank CIO Dhiren Kulkarni explains the role of innovation, the importance of customer service, and how working as a bank teller changed his life.
Besa Deda
on the connections between black swans and global markets
David Pinches
shows how innovation can pay off even when times are tough
Matt Skinner
gives his tips on how to mix and match your food and drink
coVer imaGe: Fiona Wood Courtesy of Royal Perth Hospital
St.George Bank – A division of Westpac Banking Corporation ABN 33 007 457 141 AFSL 233714
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George
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George reveals
The Androids are coming
Move over, videoconferencing: telepresence is in town Most modern businesses have flirted with video conference (VC) technology and, to be frank, most have found the experience underwhelming. That’s why the new player in town – telepresence (TP) – is making waves. Telepresence delivers what VC was never able to: an experience that’s tantalisingly close to that of being in the same room as your far-flung colleagues. Pioneered by companies such as Cisco and Tandberg, TP systems use high-definition cameras and screens in dedicated rooms with controlled lighting and acoustics to deliver exceptional results. Lower-cost mobile units are available for branch offices and remote locations – but once you’ve experienced a conference call where your curved desk fronts three 152-centimetre (60-inch), 1,080-pixel high-definition plasma screens and the callers at the remote location appear life-sized, close (and real) enough to reach out and touch, you won’t want to go back. The full-blown systems are expensive so companies often hire the facilities out, but the good news is that the costs are quickly offset by savings in travel. The CEO won’t need to fly out to each state office for the company update anymore – and there are handy carbon footprint reductions as a result. For more information, visit www.cisco.com/web/ANZ/products/telepresence.html www.tandberg.com/telepresence/
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As sales in the global smartphone market continue to rise, newcomer Android is gaining massive market share. It’s a smartphone operating system produced by Google, and it powers a wide range of phones from manufacturers including Samsung, HTC and Motorola. Easy to use, with a growing mobile application storefront, strong consumer demand and handsets at a variety of price-points from budget to premium, Android’s worldwide market share rose from 3.9 per cent in 2009 to 22.7 per cent in 2010. Recent research by International Data Corporation (IDC) rates Android as the second most popular smartphone platform worldwide. Blackberry and iPhone come in at third and fourth, with 16 per cent and 15.7 per cent respectively. Symbian (nokia) still leads the pack with 37.6 per cent market share, but possibly not for much longer – Android-powered phones outsold their Symbian-powered competitors in the fourth quarter of 2010. According to Ramon Llamas, a Senior Research Analyst with IDC’s Mobile Devices Technology and Trends team, “Phone vendors have been drawn to Android because it allows them to present their own approach to what a smartphone experience can be.” While Symbian has the backing of market-leading smartphone vendor nokia, the number of vendors using the Android operating system is growing. Also growing is its use in corporate environments. As a software platform, it is open, meaning it’s easy to develop custom applications, and Google has made it a cinch to integrate with its other software offerings, such as Gmail and Google Maps. So if you’re in the market for a new smartphone, make sure you take an Android unit out for a test drive. Portions of this page are reproduced from work created and shared by Google and used according to terms described in the Creative Commons 3.0 Attribution License. Visit www.android.com for more information.
2 billion The number of internet users on planet Earth Source: www.smartcompany.com.au
20%
The amount of their work time time Google engineers are given to spend on work-related technology projects of personal interest. Several key services, including Gmail, Google News, Orkut and AdSense, have resulted from this policy. Source: www.google.com
Innovation? Talk to the CEO Last year, Harris Interactive published a survey examining Fortune 1000 Executives’ Perspectives on Enterprise Innovation. More than half of the executives surveyed said that their organisations had no systems or structures in place to foster innovation, despite the fact that 95 per cent of them identified innovation as a critical factor in the future success of their organisatons. CEOs were seen as the key players in fostering innovation: 92 per cent of respondents said the CEO should create a culture of innovation, while 78 per cent said the CEO should commit funds to the process. For more information, visit www.harrisinteractive.com
Ita Buttrose helps launch The Power of 100
International Women’s Day St.George and the broader Westpac Group were pleased to sponsor International Women’s Day 2011. On March 8, 2011, St.George Bank hosted an event at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney celebrating Westpac’s publication of The Power of 100 – a book that lauds the achievements of 100 extraordinary Australian women. International Women’s Day is a global event. It’s even a public holiday in some countries, including Afghanistan, Cuba, Russia and Vietnam. The event has its roots in the first decade of the 20th century, when women marched for better pay and working conditions, voting rights and legal rights. The United Nations has invited member states to proclaim the date as the UN Day for Women’s Rights and International Peace. St.George is committed to creating inclusive workplaces and, as part of the Westpac Group, it leads the way in practical terms. Last year, it led the market with its offer to pay superannuation on unpaid parental leave for employees. The bank also announced its intention to increase the proportion of women in senior management positions to 40 per cent by 2014.
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George 5
Business essentials | Recruiting
The
hiring game T
he season for job hunting has well and truly begun, with the employment sections of Australian websites and newspapers looking significantly healthier. A new survey confirms this, revealing that businesses are reporting strong hiring intentions through the first quarter of 2011 as business confidence improves. The results of ‘The Hudson Report: Employment Expectations’, an Australia-wide survey of 4,709 employers, showed that more than a third of employers were planning to increase their permanent staff levels over the quarter – a strong indicator of continued growth. “The job market is now growing at its fastest rate in five years, and demand for employees is rapidly translating into higher wages,” says Mark Steyn, CEO of Hudson Australia/New Zealand. “With the strong hiring sentiment reflected throughout most markets, employers are having to compete for staff, and candidates are once again able to have some bargaining power when it comes to their wages.” Increased job listings have a flow-on effect, resulting in an increased number of job hunters, which in turn means increased competition for skilled workers. So how do you ensure you get the recruitment process right?
High-definition hiring The starting point for any sound hiring process is the job description. A good job description defines the position’s responsibilities and functions and helps to identify the knowledge, experience and skills required. When drafting contracts of employment, employers must conform to the Fair Work Act 2009, state and territory laws, industrial awards and agreements and any relevant tribunal decisions. A minimum standard of pay must be set, with conditions and entitlements explained. Job advertisements must not use discriminatory language that may
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While human beings may be complex creatures, Sasha Westwood discovers that hiring them needn’t be a complex process.
exclude potential employees on the basis of race, age, sex, marital status, family status or responsibility, pregnancy, religious and/or political beliefs, disability, gender history or sexual orientation. Linda Pophal, HR expert and author of numerous books and articles including Human Resource Essentials, says ensuring the job description is accurate and outlines the job requirements clearly is the first step. “In my opinion, the biggest mistake is not using an aligned process grounded by the job description and job requirements as the basis for the hiring process,” she says. “The job description should be reviewed to ensure it is an accurate reflection of the current job requirements. “Those competencies should be explored through the use of questions specifically designed to address key requirements – through the use of behaviour-based questions as much as possible. “These are questions that ask for examples of what the candidate has done in the past, not about what they believe they might do in the future.” Linda also suggests that job descriptions be realistic in their wording and expectations. “It’s best to include specific hiring criteria even if it means a getting a smaller number of applicants,” she says. “That’s better than wading through hundreds of applicants who do not really meet the requirements of the job, or who might not be interested in the position that is available.”
Finders, keepers No matter how you go about recruiting, the fundamental question remains the same: how do you find the best person for the job? Social media is a cost-effective way to sek out new recruits. Indeed, nowadays it may be more effective than simply listing a job opening in the local newspaper or posting it on the company website where a limited audience will see the advertisement. Social media has affected how we interact and share with friends and family, make decisions, hear and spread news, market and much more. It also affects the way people hunt for jobs and the way companies look for potential employees. Posting a job listing on sites such as Twitter (www.twitter.com), LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com) and facebook (www.facebook.com) is free of charge and allows a company to reach a much wider and more diverse audience. LinkedIn profiles are set up like resumes, allowing prospective employers the opportunity to check out applicants’ profiles. Just make sure you check a site’s terms & conditions before you delve too deep – it’s important to understand how the site uses the data it gathers. Realising the effectiveness of social media sites such as facebook and LinkedIn in letting the world know when its members are searching for
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Harmful hires can cost an organisation tens of thousands of dollars in expenses relating to recruitment, time and training ... getting it right is imperative. new jobs, employers are adopting similar methods to get the word out when they’re looking to fill specific roles. “While social media has become quite popular and is effective for many recruitment efforts, it may not be for all,” Pophal says. “In terms of the candidates you are hoping to attract, consider whether they are actively looking for jobs and where they might be looking – in traditional classified listings, trade publications, online – or if they may be ‘passive candidates’ who might be better targeted through other means.” Posting job listings in industry magazines can be a great way to narrow your search to a targeted audience. Seeking fresh graduates is another way businesses are targeting new employees. Several universities and colleges offer graduate programs, an innovative way to foster the development of Australia’s future business and community leaders, and many businesses are setting up their own internal programs. The Finance Management Association of Australia (FMAA) at The University of Melbourne, for example, is the largest professionally focused student organisation in Australia, with more than 2,600 members nationally. The FMAA actively promotes its students’ career awareness and facilitates involvement in business-related activities, helping to connect graduates with employment opportunities at some of the country’s leading financial and business institutions. It’s well worth checking with your local universities, tertiary institutes and industry associations: they’re likely sources of well-qualified homegrown graduates hungry for experience. A properly structured intern or graduate program should give prospective employees exposure to as many aspects of your organisation as possible, and should include ‘real’ work (under careful supervision) to make the experience meaningful for the graduates/ interns and allow managers an opportunity to assess prospective job candidates accurately.
The best of the best Even the most skilled HR practitioners will tell you that accurately gauging an applicant’s viability over the course of a job interview can be tricky. But the good news is that interviewing is a process, so there there are steps you can take to help you get consistent, accurate results every time. Linda Pophal recommends that all applications and resumes be reviewed carefully, with an eye to spotting warning signs such as gaps in a candidate’s employment history or short-term stays at multiple organisations. “Also, don’t skip the reference-checking process,” she
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says. “Even though it’s commonly known that most employers are hesitant to share detailed information about former candidates, one clue to a potential harmful hire is if you can’t get anything out of any former employers, supervisors or colleagues. “Candidates who were good performers will generally elicit positive recollections even from the toughest HR departments. “Always ask the all-important ‘Would you rehire this candidate?’ question. The response can be particularly telling, even if details aren’t provided.”
environmental footprint of its operations and helping its staff to reduce theirs through initiatives such as its Greener Dragon loans. These encourage staff members to reduce their individual carbon footprints by taking advantage of interest-free loans of up to $4,000 each year that may be used for purchases such as solar hot-water systems and energy-efficient appliances. St.George also has undertaken an array of initiatives to reduce paper and water usage internally, and is in the process of rolling out a recycling and integrated waste-management program.
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The hiring process can take a long time to complete and candidates may begin to wonder if they’re even still under consideration. If the process drags on for too long, you risk the likelihood that potential employees will look elsewhere or accept other offers when your organisation was actually their top choice. Communicate with candidates to let them know you’ve received their applications and when you expect to be selecting candidates for interviews. During or after the interviews, let them know the expected time frame for the remainder of the recruitment process. The post-recruitment process should be handled in a similar manner for successful and unsuccessful applicants alike. Keep all applicants’ details on file and provide feedback for those who didn’t make the cut. With successful applicants, show patience and understanding during the severance process from pre-existing work, and induct them carefully into their new roles.
Is your staff … isn’t it? No matter how efficient your internal processes, how good your product or service offering or how prestigious your brand name, everything your organisation achieves is ultimately done or overseen by your staff. This means hiring the right people, with the right attitudes and skills, is paramount to your company’s success. The time and money you invest in sound recruitment processes now will repay you many times over down the track.
Knowing you, knowing me In a tough job market, potential employees are checking out potential employers more carefully than ever before. And it’s not just about the salaries on offer: according to the Australian Centre for Corporate Social Responsibility (ACCSR), organisational culture and CSR programs play a big role in attracting new staff. Australian organisations are realising that being good corporate citizens doesn’t just improve their reputation; it can also deliver competitive advantages and create new products and services, a survey by the ACCSR revealed. ‘The State of CSR Annual Review: 2010–2011’ found that 80 per cent of almost 500 CSR practitioners surveyed agreed that CSR had helped strengthen their companies’ reputations, while just over 60 per cent viewed CSR as contributing to a reduction of costs. Corporate social responsibility is a company’s commitment to improving not just financial business decisions but the social and environmental impact the company’s actions have on the environs and the community at large. By embracing CSR, a company can increase its competitive advantage as typically, it means consumers and employees pay much greater attention to corporate conduct. Ultimately, CSR isn’t about putting a good face on your business or providing great PR coverage; rather, it’s about improving your business’s sustainability and competitiveness, whether by increasing its brand value or by helping to recruit and retain quality staff. St.George Bank, for instance, is committed to reducing the
At a glance • Start at the beginning and have a good understanding of the role you wish to fill, including the skills and personality type that would be required for a perfect ‘fit’. • Take the time to create a detailed job description, including salary and conditions. • It’s generally better to get a smaller number of higher-quality applications than a larger number of lower-quality applications. • Carefully select the media you use to advertise specific jobs: social media sites can be highly useful channels through which to reach certain applicants. • Have a solid sense of the benefits and value of working for your organisation, and communicate these to potential new hires. While salary and benefits are important, employees value other things, too. • Consider internships and graduate programs: they can be great ways to evaluate prospective employees in a workplace setting. • Carefully review applications and resumes. Irregularities (e.g. gaps in employment or too many short-term jobs) may not be ‘deal-breakers’ but should be explored in interviews. • Ensure that you handle the post-interview process well for successful and unsuccessful applicants alike. • Embrace CSR: it can be a great way to attract motivated and engaged employees and it may offer other competitive advantages. • Remember: employees are the life-blood of any organisation, so time and effort spent in careful recruiting is always a smart investment.
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George 9
Business essentials | Intellectual property
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The
knowledge economy How can you make sure that your precious ideas are protected from threats – or that they don’t just fly away on fragile wings? by Gillian currie
I
n the information age, intellectual property is an asset as crucial to business as plant, staff and a strong client base. As such, it must be protected; but while defi ning a specific product or service may be a simple task, identifying the initial idea and its progress is not quite as straightforward. According to IP Australia, Intellectual Property (IP) “represents the property of your mind or intellect. This can be an invention, trademark, original design or the practical application of a good idea”. For businesses, it’s vital to encourage ideas, then develop and keep them in-house. Ideas are the means by which businesses innovate, improve and thus remain competitive in an ever-changing marketplace. Chris Baxter, principal at Baxter IP, Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys in Sydney, believes that the key is for companies to fi nd ways to access good ideas from employees’ heads so they can benefit the fi rm. While it is well known that IP and confidentiality clauses are an important part of employment contracts, it is equally important to incentivise employees to put forward ideas, then translate these into workable
formats so they can be utilised and passed on to stakeholders. “One of our large medical-device industry clients has an internal database so they have a place to document and exchange inter-company ideas,” he adds. Baxter notes that employees are given recognition for ideas submitted to the company’s database and are able to see what’s already in place and help develop what already exists. He says another fi rm uses blogs accessed over the company intranet as a means of brainstorming. These systems give individuals recognition for their ideas, even though, as they are employees, these ideas legally belong to the company. Baxter also notes that some US fi rms give bonuses when ideas are put forward for patents, and larger cash bonuses if the patents are awarded. He says these encourage employees to develop ideas within the workplace rather than putting them aside or, worse, taking ideas to competitors if they leave. “Ideas are initially intangible – thought processes inside someone’s head – so without sufficient incentive
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Types of IP Retaining and defining IP can be difficult but broadly speaking, it can be categorised as registrable IP, which includes patents, trademarks, designs and plant breeders’ rights; and nonregistrable IP, which includes copyright, trade secrets and circuit layouts. Each of these rights covers a category of innovative thinking and, for registrable IP, involves a procedure to register the initial work, idea or process. PATEnTS Patents cover inventions, which can be new or improved products or processes. A patent may be granted to someone who creates something new and useful for either eight or 20 years, depending on the type of patent. Costs vary depending on the type and the number of countries in which you intend to register. The idea behind granting a patent is that the holder is given a monopoly to make, use or sell his or her invention for a specific period. When that time is up, details of how to make or copy the invention are made public. TRADEMARKS Trademarks are used to protect words, phrases, sounds, shapes, smells, logos, packaging or other branding devices, such as Qantas’ kangaroo motif and the word ‘Vegemite’. You don’t have to register a trademark to acquire protection under common law, but registered trademarks are easier to enforce. Once a trademark is accepted, registration lasts for 10 years and can be renewed indefinitely. PRODUCT DESIGn AnD PLAnT BREEDERS’ RIGHTS Specific product design protection with regard to the shape and/ or appearance of a manufactured product is fairly limited in scope. Plant breeders’ rights cover new plant varieties. COPYRIGHT Copyright is for original material in literary, artistic, dramatic and musical works, films, broadcasts, multimedia and computer programs. In Australia, granting of copyright is automatic and usually lasts for 70 years from the date of the author’s death. no formal registration is required, though experts advise people to use the copyright symbol, followed by the year and the creator’s name. COMPUTER CIRCUITS Circuit layout rights automatically protect original designs for integrated computer circuits and chips and give the owner the right to copy, make and exploit the design in the relevant jurisdiction(s). TRADE SECRETS Trade secrets are recognised as another non-registrable IP; they encompass know-how and other confidential information, such as methods or formulae, which have economic value. Trade secrets can also include client lists, business plans and product information, and may be protected by confidentiality agreements. For more information, visit www.ipaustralia.gov.au
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IP is as much an asset of the company as furniture, computers and machinery, and in time may well become more valuable. to disclose an idea to an employer, it is very easy for an employer to miss an opportunity [from which he or she could] potentially benefit,” he says. Aside from encouragement, employers can ensure their employment contracts cover intellectual property, not just for members of their creative team but across all staff; that confidentiality clauses are also at their disposal; and that electronic safeguards can be put in place to ensure all IT traffic is monitored and recorded.
Building a business IP rights are important because they give you exclusive permission to use and exploit your or your company’s ideas. IP can be easily overlooked, as it is more difficult to defi ne and can be intangible, especially when a business is starting out. When the Billabong trademark was launched in the 1970s, for example, it was a one-man operation in Queensland with a cool logo. Years later, this iconic Australian brand is recognised internationally and is worth millions. While it may not be apparent at fi rst, IP is
At a glance • Intellectual property is a valuable company asset that warrants careful protection. • Encouraging the sharing of ideas and concepts, and rewarding the brains behind these, can help ensure that IP remains within a company. • Companies must also consider the various registration processes available to safeguard their IP, such as trademarks and patents, as well as confidentiality and IP clauses within employment contracts. • Vigilance and accurate research is paramount when it comes to being aware of IP infringements, both against and by companies and individuals. • IP protection in Australia does not automatically mean protection overseas.
as much an asset of a company as its furniture, computers and machinery and, in time, it may well become far more valuable than these material assets. When it comes to employees working for a company, IP matters are usually fairly straightforward. By law, if an employee develops an idea into expression in the course of working for an employer, the IP belongs to the company. Many fi rms have clauses in place to ensure that this is clearly understood; however, when it comes to contract workers, the waters can become a little murky. Priscilla Blackadder, a senior solicitor at Etheringtons in Sydney who specialises in copyright and trademark law, says the key is to have everything spelled out clearly from the outset. “It’s about having everything down in writing and watertight,” she says. “We see a lot of people who think and assume. Assumptions are made in the employment process and they are not always right.” And just because someone has an idea does not mean that he or she has statutory IP rights in the idea until it is formally put into material form, in the case of copyright or, in the case of patents, designs and trademarks, until he or she registers it. Unfortunately, even if one of your team members comes up with a brilliant idea, there’s no guarantee someone else hasn’t beaten them to it. This means that in the process of registering your trademark, logo, design or invention, you must fi rst seek to ensure that nothing the same or very similar is already in the marketplace. Such searches can be made by going to www.ipaustralia.gov.au
It pays to protect Blackadder says that companies are increasingly aware of IP and of the need to safeguard their intellectual property interests, but she cannot stress enough how delaying seeking expert advice can jeopardise an idea’s future development. “The problem is [that] a lot of people seek legal advice when issues arise with their trademark[s],” she notes. “[At this stage,] however, the brand and the concept are already well underway, making this even more complex. Spending money on lawyers might not be the [priority] of the company in those start-up stages; however, it can be even more costly if companies and individuals do not do their initial homework.” Blackadder advises that once you or your company has intellectual property, you should protect it. In the event that a company or individual feels that their IP rights have been infringed, they must take action known as enforcement – however, the laws governing this area are complex and companies need to be careful of making unjustified threats. Action can range from a letter of warning through to taking the accused infringer to court. The process may be costly but experts advise that acting swiftly and in the correct manner ensures that any potential infringers know you are serious about protecting your rights. This article contains information of a legal nature but is not intended to be, nor should it be used as, legal advice. Please consult a lawyer if you have any questions regarding intellectual property.
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George 13
I did it my way | Cover story
skin under her
Professor, plastic surgeon, Australian of the Year … it’s hard to know where to start telling the Fiona Wood story. Yet for all of this exceptional woman’s achievements, it’s clear that dedication and teamwork have been the keys to her success. by michael butler
“T
he skin is a very active organ,” says Fiona Wood FRACS [Fellow of the Australian College of Surgeons], AM. “There are active zones and if we can harvest those cells, we can grow them.” It’s simple – in principle at least – but there’s a little more to the story of Spray-on Skin, and of Fiona Wood, than that. It begins in 1958, when Wood was born in Yorkshire, England. She attended the local school, later transferring to the Quaker school where her mother worked. “I was able to achieve more than if I’d stayed in the comprehensive school system,” she says. “Numbers were my game: I was fascinated by maths and physics.” Wood’s mother guided her into medicine, reasoning that it would provide an outlet for her talents, a job and financial independence. So she trained as a doctor at St Thomas’s Hospital Medical School in London, graduating in 1981, and worked in the burns unit at Queen Victoria Hospital (East Grinstead). “It’s famous for treating RAF personnel during World War II; it was the first burns unit I worked in. And that was when I started to develop an interest [in burns].” Fast-forward to 1987: Wood has married an Australian, Tony Kierath, and moved to Western Australia with two children in tow, finding work at Royal Perth Hospital. She has completed her training as a plastic surgeon, had four more children and continued to specialise in burns.
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The benefits of youth “You can grow [harvested skin cells] into sheets,” she enthuses. “It was first done in Boston in the late seventies by Howard Green … it was first used clinically in 1983.” Working with research partner Marie Stoner, Wood cultured some skin sheets in the lab, “but there were lots of problems with them”, she recalls. “What was making it stick to the wounds? It was so fragile … there were a number of problems. So that was the drive to find a better solution.” A key discovery was that less mature skin cells generally performed better than more mature cells. “Marie and I noticed that if the skin sheets were immature, they did better, so we looked into why,” she says. “We found that if you use earlier cells, you get more reliable healing. It also reduced the risk of infection and allowed us to use cells earlier in the time frame. The quicker you can close the wound, the better.” And Wood and Stoner’s method was definitely quicker. Traditional cultured skin grafts take around 21 days to become ready for use; their Spray-on Skin cells are now harvested and used in the same procedure. “The immature cells are more adaptable so you can close the wound faster, which also reduces the chance of scarring,” explains Wood. “We were just trying to make the technology better so people could use it.” This work took place through the late eighties and nineties; in 1993, Wood and Stoner established the Skin Culture Facility. Then, in 1999, they created the McComb Foundation (named for Harold McComb, one of Wood’s mentors) to protect their intellectual property and further their research. But Wood came to global attention in 2002, when 28 survivors of the Bali bombings suffering burns were flown to Royal Perth Hospital for treatment. Fortunately, from 1997, Wood had been involved in devising a plan for dealing with such a large-scale emergency, and that plan was put into effect. This saw Wood and the burns team work tirelessly to treat their patients’ burns, infections and shock. This phenomenal effort brought attention and acclaim from all corners of the globe and was a key factor in Wood being named Australian of the Year 2005. But how did this dedicated doctor develop her technologies to the point where they could be deployed under the pressure and at the scale required by such an emergency? To answer this question, we must again step back in time a few years.
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At a glance • Research: Never stop trying to improve your product. Focus clearly on the problem you’re attempting to solve or the market you’re trying to serve and concentrate on finding a better solution. • Collaborate: It’s important to keep track of what’s going on in the marketplace around you. Not only will this prevent you from re-inventing the wheel, it will also suggest fruitful partnerships. • Structure: It’s important to understand how your corporate, managerial and business reporting structures will impact your ability to develop and deliver your product or service. • Integrity: Understand what it is you’re trying to achieve and pursue it with diligence; respect your colleagues, partners and investors and deliver to them to the best of your ability.
“I think you’ve got to have a real balance. You need a tight focus to make progress, but you also need to stand back and look around to make sure you don’t reinvent the wheel.”
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Getting better at business
It takes a team
In 2000, Wood and Stoner founded a company – Clinical Cell Culture (‘C3’), now known as Avita – to commercialise their technology. Angel investors came on board and the company was listed on the ASX. “The intellectual property is owned by the Foundation but we felt that if we commercialised, it could be exploited and provide a source of income into the foundation for our ongoing research,” Wood explains. The technology is used on a not-for-profit basis by the WA health system, which means patients can access the benefits of the latest advances, she says, “so we’re not using 2005 technology when 2015 technology is available”. The McComb Foundation gets royalties to support its research, and the research supports the commercialisation. “It’s very much a triangle,” says Wood. “We do research at the McComb Foundation, the commercial side is with Avita and the hospital partner is at the not-for-profit level.” An important part of developing the commercial side of Sprayon Skin has been to export the technology but, until recently, this had been hampered by the lack of randomised trials. “Now [as of 2009] we have a US military grant, which is funding the FDA [Food and Drugs Administration] trial. We also have trials in China. We’ve got approval in Europe and the Middle East – so it’s used around the world, not just in Australia. There was resistance, but we figured out how to make it work and it’s flowed on. Now other people around the world have made it work and other people are listening, but we had to overcome that inertia in the first place and that took time.”
In many ways, change is Wood’s business – she’s always looking for better ways to solve the problems that confront her patients. When it comes to clinical treatments, it’s a balancing act, but the pay-off is a better result for patients, increased knowledge and thus, further steps towards improving the technologies used. “I think we have to be focused,” contends Wood. “For us, what works is we’re problem-solvers. We want to solve the problem that faces us working on that individual, and we do the best we can on the day with the technologies we’ve got. “But we also analyse the technologies we use and think about how to improve them. We understand, as clinicians, that we need a number of different technology groups to help us understand and define the problem.” “When you get burns, the brain changes, the nerves change, the skin and other areas change. There can also be changes in your immune system and changes in your muscles; it takes time to get back to normal. So there are implications for the patient beyond the burn.” But though the clinical problems vary from patient to patient, one thing remains a constant: the need to work collaboratively to find the best solution. “I think you’ve got to have a real balance,” says Wood. “You need a tight focus to make progress, but you also need to stand back and look around to make sure you don’t re-invent the wheel.” This also means it’s important to understand your industry or field of endeavour. “Everything we do is very collaborative. We figure out who can help us and then we collaborate with them – or that group.”
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Dr Fiona Wood (right) and her research partner Marie Stoner
Spray-on Skin At first glance, Spray-on Skin – skin cells that are sprayed onto a wound to promote healing and reduce secondary problems such as infection and scarring – seems like something out of a sciencefiction movie. But the technology is real and it has been used clinically for nearly 10 years. In lay persons’ terms, it’s a simple process: Skin cells are harvested from the patient and put in a suspension, which is then sprayed back onto the wound. The cells multiply and create new skin tissue. Because the cells are from the patient’s own body, there is no risk of rejection or of disease transmission.
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George 17
Surgeon, professor and ground-breaking researcher Dr Fiona Wood.
“If you’re too fuzzy, you’ll never make progress. But if you’re too focused you’ll waste your energy re-inventing the wheel. Everything has to be linked to a problem or you’ll never make progress.”
The key ingredient
“Everything we do is collaborative. We figure out who can help us and then we collaborate with them – or that group.”
It’s a great story – but if there’s one thing that ties together and explains Wood’s life and work, it’s her integrity. It’s a trait that was instilled in her at an early age by her family and her experiences in the education system and sheeted home during her time at university. “I always worked,” she remembers of those early days. “We had our fees and books paid and a living allowance but it was never quite enough. It was starve or work!” Wood’s appetite for work has not waned over the ensuing years, despite her considerable achievements. Not only is she a surgeon, professor and researcher, she’s a wife and the mother of six children. She also finds time to cycle – believing that fitness is important during long surgeries – as well as to relax and sleep! “I feel very privileged,” she says. “Certainly, I feel that I’ve done a lot of work and I’ve had some amazing learnings.” For all that, Wood maintains that her greatest challenge is motherhood. “Having your first child is the biggest life change … going from five to six isn’t such a problem,” she demurs. But it’s not hard to see how family life has influenced her professional life, from Wood’s insistence that teamwork is the key to success to the way she cherishes the differences among individuals. “I’m a great believer in diversity,” she asserts. “Race, gender, religion: mutual respect is key, and that’s achieved when people behave with integrity. I think that’s what we really need to drive home and strive for.”
Career highlights 1981: Fiona Wood is awarded her Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery (MBBS).
2004: She’s confirmed as Clinical Professor, School of Paediatrics and Child Health at UWA.
More information
1991: She completes her training to become a consultant plastic surgeon.
2005: Wood is named Australian of the Year. It was “confronting, overwhelming, uplifting”, she recalls. “I was exposed to lots of ideas; it was very positive.”
For more information about Fiona Wood and Spray-on Skin, visit:
2002: In the aftermath of the Bali bombings, 28 victims with serious burns are sent to Royal Perth Hospital. Wood’s emergency plan is activated; she and her team work for five days straight to treat the patients. 2003: Wood is made a member of the Order of Australia.
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2007: She flies to Yogyakarta to assist the treatment of burn victims following the crash of Garuda Indonesia flight 200. 2008: Fiona is appointed Winthrop Professor (Burns Injury Research Unit) at the University of WA.
www.avitamedical.com www.mccomb.org.au
Photos: Hazel Buckley (pp. 14–15, 18), Royal Perth Hospital (pp. 16–17).
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George 19
I did it my way | ABC Tissue
Easy as 1 2
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From $250,000 to $300 million and 30 per cent market share is a pretty fair level of growth for any business – let alone a new player going up against some well-entrenched brands. Henry Ngai’s ABC Tissue has done exactly that. by Glenn cullen
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n one way, it really was as simple as A-B-C for papertissue baron Henry Ngai. When the former Hong Kong entrepreneur arrived in Australia in 1985 to set up a manufacturing company in Sydney, he came as a man who knew his own limitations. He might not have understood much English but he knew that given the ethnically diverse client base in his new home, his business name had to be as unambiguous as possible. “At that time, because my English wasn’t so good, I thought ‘ABC’ because that would be easy,” Henry says. “I had to make sure people understood. Because Australia is multicultural, it [had to] be easy for everyone to remember.” Initially an importer of tissue products, Henry quickly moved into converting and production, adding a Queensland mill to his operations before becoming the first New South Wales manufacturer with a tissue machine in Sydney. Now, more than a quarter of a century since ABC opened its doors, it’s fair to say the brand has significant clout in the marketplace. From a $250,000 operation, it has grown into an entity with a $300 million annual turnover and 30 per cent market share in Australia. It is rated among the top three producers of its kind in the country, ranked 180th in the BRW’s Top 500 private companies list and is the only locally owned business among Sydney’s large tissue manufacturers. And while little of Henry’s journey has been as straightforward as naming the company, the lateral thinking that was evident when Henry started ABC Tissue has been a key to his ongoing success.
“I thought ‘ABC’ because ... I had to make sure people understood and I would be easy to call.”
ABC Group owner Henry Ngai has plenty to smile about
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How St.George helped ABC Tissue has been a St.George customer since 1992 and, in that time, the bank has provided the company with increasing levels of financing and other assistance as it has grown. Henry and Sunny Ngai expect a lot from their bank and St.George has been happy to meet their every need. It’s been a highly productive relationship, as evidenced by ABC’s steady growth. St.George was particularly pleased to have been able to assist ABC in the financing of its first paper-mill plant back in 2005. It was a bold business move with a high level of risk attached; however, the Bank was confident in the Ngais’ business acumen and is delighted to continue to help the business grow.
Thinking outside the (tissue) box In a low-margin industry with bulky stock, most accountants would be tearing their hair out if you suggested you wanted to keep a large inventory. But Henry backed the quality of his products, believing they would remain in high demand. And if this turned out to be the case, having high volumes of stock at his disposal would be essential. “I have to keep enough stock to service my customers and that is not the normal accounting system,” he says. “The normal system is zero or one week’s stock because of the cost of inventory in interest and space. But I do it a different way: I keep plenty of stock so when the supermarket requires more quantity and somebody else can’t do it, I can because I have it on hand.” Henry cites Quilton, ABC’s ‘prestige’ range of toilet/facial tissues and paper towels, as a case in point. “It’s very good quality. Once people try my product, they never go back to other products, so it is very important to have stock on hand.” The Quilton line offers further insights into the Ngai family’s business and its readiness to move with the times – as well as to take a few risks. With his son Sunny heading up marketing for the group, the family business recently signed off an advertising campaign that broke from tradition in the oft-staid world of toilet paper on TV. Devised by Gorilla Communications, it’s far removed from the ‘pillowy-softness’ and ‘puppy-dog’ portrayals that had become
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the de facto industry standard. Cutting to the chase with the cheeky slogan ‘Quilton loves your bum’, the campaign has proved edgy and popular, creating interest in the product. ABC’s quality toilet tissue can then do its job and create repeat purchases. By the end of 2008, Quilton was the number-one premium toilet tissue brand in Australia. “They were funny,” Henry says of the ads. “But everyone who meets with me [now] says: ‘Henry, Quilton loves your bum!’ It has been very successful.”
Above: Henry walks the factory floor.
A family affair In a company of more than 700 employees, Henry finds himself in daily contact with many of his relatives. Among the 30 family members working for the company are Henry’s brother-in-law Ming Ly, who manages the production side of the business; his son Brendan Ly, the paper-mill manager; and Henry’s son-in-law Sona Siou, who is involved with sales. Family has been a focus for Henry, in and out of the office.
“If the top guy is fair, then the people down the bottom won’t have trouble. Watch closely but take care.”
At a glance • ABC Tissue got its name because owner Henry Ngai wanted something simple that everyone could remember. • From a modest $250,000 operation started in 1985, ABC Tissue has grown dramatically: today, it has an annual turnover in excess of $300 million. • ABC Tissue employs more than 700 people, including 30 members of Henry Ngai’s extended family. • The company’s Quilton brand is the number-one luxury toilet tissue in Australia. • The five-year plan is to generate revenues greater than $400 million each year and increase the market share to 35 per cent. • Henry Ngai expects to finance 13,000 cataract operations in China and Cambodia with another business associate this year.
Even when he was working seven days a week, he made a point of seeing his wife and children for breakfast and dinner every day. Still, it’s clear he likes to lead by example regardless of who the employee is. “I am the king so no problem,” he laughs. “No, everything must be fair. If the top guy is fair, then the people down the bottom won’t have trouble. Watch closely but take care. Training is important, as is managing people.” So is taking stock of his actions and consulting with others. “Because I have been in the industry since 1974, I have learned a lot building the business. What I do during the day, I think about in the evening and ask myself whether I can improve it. I look at anything I did wrong. I don’t make big decisions without thinking properly. I always negotiate with my wife and children.” Such negotiations are important for the future health of the business. Henry’s children are expected to take control of operations eventually; his daughter Anny is already running the company office in Auckland.
Giving something back Increased capacity is on the cards in Sydney and there’s also the prospect of setting up a factory in Perth to help save on
transport costs. Henry’s five-year plan is ambitious: he aims to have revenues of $400 million, a market share of 35 per cent and to have built two new mills using state-of-the-art technology. And just last year, he won the Ernst & Young Award for Entrepreneur of the Year in the products category. Slowing down is the last thing on his mind. “I began to retire in 2008 but because of the financial crisis, I could not retire. Now, the sales are good so I have to increase the investment in machinery, so I think I have to work another year. But I am still young; my heart is only 38. I thought, it’s no good to play golf, no good to play tennis – better we go and look after the people’s needs instead.” For Henry, that translates into an array of community projects in Australia and overseas. The company has been paying for doctors to operate on people with cataracts in China and Cambodia, with Henry estimating that his contributions have helped about 8,000 people so far. He’ll join forces with a business associate this year to finance another 13,000 operations. Locally, Henry donates to the Red Cross and Salvation Army, and has raised significant funds for flood and bushfire relief. “I don’t just want to make all the money, put it in my pocket and play golf,” he says.
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George 23
I did it my way | Pinches
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highand dry
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t may sound ‘dry and technical’ but to a large number of industries worldwide (including mining, textiles, manufacturing and food production), the process of drying is a topic of significant commercial interest. The drying of bulk materials or waste products is a stage of industrial production that is often energy-intensive, smelly and highly polluting. The process can also be dangerous and even (in extreme cases) lethal, as industrial dryers have the potential to catch fi re or explode. With changing community expectations, tighter environmental protection laws and greater incentives for energy efficiency, there are many good reasons for making the industrial drying process greener, safer and more economical. Ten years ago, Melbourne-based Australian engineering group Pinches Consolidated Industries (PCI) and its Sydneybased subsidiary fi rm Keith Engineering identified an underresearched drying technology as a good starting point from which to innovate and become a market leader in one of its client sectors.
Melbourne-based engineering group Pinches Consolidated Industries is discovering a diverse range of new markets for its innovative superheated steam-drying technology. Words: Julian leatherdale
In 1999, PCI made its biggest acquisition: Keith Engineering, Australia’s largest manufacturer of machinery to the rendering industry, a company that specialises in processing meat byproducts from abattoirs and butcher shops. David’s fi rst objective for innovation was to improve processes for the rendering industry in order to “be leading the pack rather than just [being] part of the pack”. His second objective was “to look at other industries where we could use our skill base. I said to my managers if there was anything innovative that they tripped across, no matter how stupid it seemed, I wanted to know about it”.
Running hot In 2001, Keith Engineering came across Agresearch, an independent, government-funded research and development (R&D) institute in New Zealand. They were researching the use of superheated steam (SHS) in drying. At temperatures
Leader of the pack It has been a challenging journey that began with a small general engineering fabrication and services firm, founded in Melbourne in 1947 and growing into five diverse companies with three manufacturing locations in Australia and New Zealand, 58 staff and an international customer base. PCI’s Managing Director, Mr David Pinches, son of the founder, took up the reins in 1987. “I felt that we weren’t going to go forward unless we did become innovative,” says David, “and we had control of our product – that being sales, marketing, design, manufacturing, distribution and spare parts.”
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At a glance • Engineering group Pinches Consolidated Industries (PCI) embraced innovation to become a market leader in the manufacture of drying equipment for the meat-rendering industry and as a basis for diversification into other industries and markets. • Investigating an under-researched technology through an extensive program of R&D, PCI patented a new airless drying process for rendering. • PCI has worked with academics and private-industry partners on developing other industrial applications including coal-drying, poultry processing and minewater treatment.
David Pinches,
Managing Director, Pinches Consolidated Industries
above 140°C, steam changes from a wet vapour into a dry gas that makes an excellent drying medium. “Superheated steam is nothing new: it’s been known of for over 100 years,” says David, “but it hasn’t been picked up commercially [that much].” Superheated steam drying is a closed-loop, airless drying system that offers three major advantages to industry: energy efficiency, total control of odours and noxious emissions, and the elimination of the risk of fi re and dust explosion due to the absence of oxygen. “We invested a lot of money in completing [their] research and seeing how we could apply it to the rendering industry,” says David. The investment paid off. Keith Engineering secured an order for its fi rst airless dryer from Lowe Corporation, a large New Zealand meat processor, in 2002, and the machine was installed in 2003. The company achieved a world fi rst for the rendering industry with a patent for the Keith Airless Rendering Process (KARP) in 2007. To PCI’s surprise, KARP offered the added and unexpected benefit of improving the quality of product. PCI continues to refi ne the research but is now seeking a commercial partner to take the technology to the next stage.
Picking winners Following its success with KARP, PCI began to investigate potential applications in different industries. No other companies in Australia or New Zealand are developing SHS drying technology and PCI has deliberately avoided industrial applications where overseas competitors are advanced in their research. Since 2007, PCI has developed collaborative research partnerships with universities around Australia and overseas, looking at a range of potential applications to other materials such as brown coal, industrial and municipal sludge, nickel ore, beef jerky and fish, fruit and vegetables, as well as corn-based ethanol. “This process can be applied to any industry that dries,” says David. “So we fell for the trap of exploring a whole heap of stuff. We’re now just focusing on a number of industries.”
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• PCI’s innovation has led to technical solutions, joint ventures and international sales.
A commitment to R&D comes with a price tag. “A year or two ago we spent the best part of a million dollars on R&D,” says David. But the targeting of R&D to specific applications has led to solid results. Since 2009, PCI has sold, designed, built, delivered and installed dryers for the Mars Corporation in Russia (for drying pet food) and in Belgium (for drying rice).
Eggs in many baskets To date, PCI has tackled projects for which it has been able to get assistance from private-industry backers prepared to take on some risk. Iowa is the egg-laying capital of the US, with 60 million laying hens due to produce 15 billion eggs in 2011. Like all egg-laying regions, Iowa has the problem of 18-monthold ‘spent’ hens that stop laying and must then be processed into product such as pet food. One large-scale Iowa producer, Great Plains Protein LLC, turned to PCI, looking to adapt the fi rm’s rendering technology to its purposes. “They were prepared to take the punt and, 12 months later, we installed [our technology] and it works,” says Pinches. “They’re getting top value for their product and we’re awaiting a decision to put in two more plants: one in Philadelphia and one in Texas.” PCI sees this application of its technology fi nding sales with egg-producing countries worldwide. Now it has solved the technical problems, the primary focus for PCI is business development, sales and marketing.
Wet coal in Victoria The Victorian government is keen to export the state’s brown coal reserves but, with a moisture content of up to 60 per cent, Victoria’s brown coal is costly to dry in terms of energy inputs and carbon emissions and, once dried, is liable to self-combust when transported. PCI’s drying technology is one option being considered as a solution these problems. PCI is in conversation with state and federal governments with a view to progressing this technology and has been approached by companies in China and India, but extra resources are needed to move forward.
Left: SHS-125 being prepared for dispatch to a confectionary company in Russia.
Coal-seam gas in Queensland An unexpected opportunity has emerged for PCI in the past 12 months from Queensland’s coal-seam gas industry, which faces a significant problem processing the large quantities of saltwater it extracts to release the gas. Changes to Queensland’s environmental protection legislation in 2010 mean that the industry can no longer rely on evaporation ponds for the storage and disposal of this saline effluent. The risk of environmental damage through spillage into rivers was highlighted in the recent Queensland floods. PCI has set up a joint venture with a consortium of four companies to develop an alternative. The proposed technology couples PCI’s drying process with another proven technology, reverse osmosis, with a third phase being the production of green soda ash, widely used in cleaning chemicals. “We are hoping to turn the byproduct of an energy process into a revenue stream for these consortiums,” says David. A commercial demonstration plant will cost $3.5 million. “We think we’ve now done enough of the hard yards ourselves that we’ve got something to sell,” he adds. “We just need to raise the hard cash: we’ve already put in the blood, sweat and tears.”
How St.George helped Having done business with two other major banks, Pinches Consolidated Industries (PCI) took all its business needs to St.George in 2006 and now has 12 products with the bank, including business lending, equipment finance and trade finance. While investing in R&D for its innovative drying technology, PCI’s subsidiary firm Keith Engineering expanded its core business of providing conventional equipment to the rendering industry, pursuing tenders overseas including in the highly competitive Indian market. “The Senior Relationship Manager for International Trade Finance and I were involved in looking at the draft contracts and reviewing the terms of trade to ultimately protect PCI’s interests,” says Benjamin Daly, Relationship Manager, St.George Corporate Bank, Melbourne. Currently, PCI is engaged in joint venture with a coalseam gas consortium in Queensland to develop wastewater treatment projects, each potentially a five- to 10-milliondollar exercise. PCI’s Managing Director, David Pinches, regards St.George as a “first port of call” in helping him find potential investors for these future projects.
“If there was anything innovative that they tripped across, no matter how stupid it seemed, I wanted to know about it.” www.stgeorge.com.au/george
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I did it my way | The interview
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-friendly Pet purchases An idea originally floated at a family barbecue has grown into one of Australia’s best-known online brands. Dr Mark Perissinotto talks about how he turned his passion for pets into a multimillion-dollar business. Words: sasha tohme
Dr. Mark Perissinotto BVSc Managing Director, VetShopAustralia
S
tep inside the head office of VetShopAustralia and you will find an assortment of dogs happily roaming among the desks and sitting at the feet of their owners. As they are at the company’s online retail outlet (www. vetshopaustralia.com.au), happy pets are high on the list of priorities here. “We have a pet-friendly office environment as this is something that is important to our staff. That’s what our staff want so we provide it for them,” says Managing Director Dr. Mark Perissinotto. Providing people with what they want has helped his online pet supplies store grow from a sideline business that brought in less than $600 profit in its first year to an internationally recognised brand with a yearly turnover of $12 million. Mark started VetShopAustralia in 1999 with his brother Steven, a lawyer. They ran the business on the side from Mark’s veterinary clinic on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast. The brothers juggled the day-to-day running of the burgeoning online business with their respective careers until it became obvious that VetShopAustralia was no longer something that could be run as a part-time operation. Now Mark and Steve run the online retail store full-time, with 20 staff and more than 230,000 clients from across the globe. And their efforts have paid off: recently, the company was named Australia’s best online retailer.
You have had great success with VetShopAustralia in a relatively short time. Did you ever imagine the business would be so successful so soon? The business started off as a bit of an aside to our normal careers. I was still running the vet clinic and Steven continued to work as a partner in a law firm. It certainly wasn’t an overnight success – in its first year, we only made a profit of $600, and in the second year we operated at a loss. But then we reached a point after about two years where the business started to grow at a very fast rate of around 12 per cent every month. So I began working full-time on the business about six years ago and Steven started full-time around three years ago.
Was it easy making the transition from veterinarian to online entrepreneur? I came from a small-business background where cashflow was very important and business decisions had to be made based on the returns on investment, while my brother Steven came from a corporate background and his business decisions are based more on the bigger picture. Because of these different approaches to business, we tend to complement each other, learn from each other and work well together.
Do you miss working with animals? At times I do – however, I still treat the pets of families, friends and employees. Plus we have a pet-friendly policy at
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How St.George helped St.George has been VetShopAustralia’s bank of choice right from the beginning and has worked closely with the company to ensure it continues to succeed. Mark says St.George has helped with everything from foreign exchange to BPAY and Eftpos facilities and everyday banking. “As with any successful business, you’re never standing alone, and our relationship with St.George has been an integral part of our business,” he says. “Like our relationships with our suppliers and our staff, our partnership with our bank is all part of the bigger picture.” Above: VetShopAustralia headquarters.
work so, on any given day, there’ll be four or five dogs in the office; I’m still surrounded by animals. I don’t miss the after-hours and the calls in the middle of the night, though. One of my last calls was to a cow calving at three in the morning. It was the middle of winter; it was raining and I was outside lying in the mud, so that’s definitely one thing that I don’t miss about being a vet.
the online retail category. We went to the awards ceremony not really expecting to win, considering the high calibre of the other companies shortlisted. When we were named winner, well, let’s just say there was a lot of celebrating and champagne that night. It was great to be recognised, and we continue to update and improve the site to maintain those award-winning standards.
You’ve practised as a vet for more than 20 years: what has been your most bizarre patient?
The award was, in part, recognition for excellent service. How do you ensure the customer comes first?
I was called to treat a lion once at a circus in Gympie. That was fairly scary as I know what cats can do to you when they’re upset – let alone a lion! I also had to treat a monkey whose fingers had been bitten off by another monkey in a fight.
We have a number of different systems in place to maintain high levels of customer service, including a call centre where staff come from some sort of veterinary nursing background and are trained in all the products. We are contactable by email and orders can be placed online or over the phone. Our products are considerably cheaper than [those sold at] traditional pet supply stores and retail outlets, and postage is kept to a minimum. We also keep our clients up to date with the latest in pet news.
Many online retail outlets that started out at the same time as VetShopAustralia aren’t around today. How did you survive the dot-com crash and the global financial crisis? We were one of the first online retailers in pet supplies when we started back in 1999. We started before the dot-com crash and before popular sites such as YouTube and facebook were even heard of. The idea for VetShopAustralia came about at a family barbecue, when the topic of conversation turned to the internet and how it was going to change things. We floated the idea of starting an online store and I suggested we sell pet supplies. We designed the website ourselves and within the first few weeks, we had a handful of clients. We weathered the dot-com crash because we were fairly small and were self-funded, with all profits put back into the business; plus we didn’t have large capital outlay or investors. Our business has a lot of repeat customers because of the nature of the product, which helps during times of volatility. If someone buys a six-month supply of heartworm tablets or flea control [and] they’re happy, they come back because they need it.
In 2009, you were dubbed Australia’s best online retailer. We were shortlisted for the Australian Interactive Media Industry Association Awards for e-services and excellence in e-commerce in
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At a glance • VetShopAustralia is one of the largest online retailers of pet supplies, with products sourced from around the world to give customers greater choice at cheaper prices. • Trading since 1999, VetShopAustralia is a genuine internet success story: it has grown from a sideline business with an annual profit of just $600 in its first year into an expanding multi-million-dollar company. • In 2009, VetShopAustralia won the Australian Interactive Media Industry Association Award for e-services and excellence in e-commerce in the online retail category, ahead of eBay, GraysOnline and Ticketek.
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St.George says | Economic outlook
Beware
BlackSwan Black Swan the
If recent events have taught us anything, it’s to expect the unexpected. by besa deda
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his year, the economy has been struck by multiple natural disasters, or ‘black swan’ events, as they’re sometimes known. The phrase refers to events previously thought to be impossible or at least wildly improbable. It derives from the historical ‘knowledge’ that all swans were white, which was proved wrong when the European discovery of Australia revealed (to the great surprise of natural scientists) that black swans also existed. Looking past these events, however, the fundamentals – in Australia, at least – remain unchanged. Australia’s terms of trade have continued their upward ascent as commodity prices have risen over recent months. This ‘rising terms of trade’ story is providing an ongoing net injection of income to our economy. A
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Besa Deda
Chief Economist, St.George
Another ‘black swan’ event reared its head, this time in Japan: a triple-whammy of earthquake followed by tsunami followed by nuclear disaster.
capital-spending boom, led by the mining sector, is also underway and should accelerate in the second half of this year. At the same time, Australia’s unemployment rate has fallen below the magical five per cent mark. The current unemployment rate is close to the natural rate of unemployment, a level that suggests that wage pressures could start to build. The wage threat is particularly notable in places such as Western Australia, where the current unemployment rate is 4.2 per cent. The cyclone and floods in Queensland and Victoria earlier this year will cause the Australian economy to be weaker than it otherwise would have been over the first half of this year. This is because of the disruptions to production, business activity, employment and spending that have arisen as a result of the floods. There remains a real possibility that the economy will go backwards in the March quarter before recovering in the June quarter, when rebuilding from the devastation will be in full swing. After the June quarter, reconstruction activity will boost the economy and cause economic growth to be stronger than would otherwise have been the case. In fact, it is likely that the Australian economy will receive a boost over a two-year period. This means the Australian economy will most likely be weaker in the short term but firmer in the medium term.
A friend in need More recently, another ‘black swan’ event reared its head, this time in Japan: a triple-whammy of earthquake followed by tsunami followed by nuclear disaster. Japan is Australia’s second-largest trading partner after China. Approximately 18.5 per cent of Australian exports are destined for Japan. In terms of total two-way trade (i.e. including both exports and imports), the share sits closer to 12 per cent. Australia supplies some 63 per cent of Japan’s coal imports and 18 per cent of the country’s gas imports. Japan is also the world’s secondbiggest importer of iron ore. So the prospect of a sharp fall in Japanese economic output in the short term is likely to affect Australia’s growth prospects. It is estimated that the Japanese disaster may shave around 0.2 percentage points from Australia’s growth in the June quarter. Again, however, once rebuilding is underway in Japan, there will be a strong lift in the demand for our industrial commodities, giving the Australian economy another boost.
The ‘squirrel’ economy So in the second half of this year and over next year, the Australian economy will be receiving a boost from rebuilding efforts at a time when the mining-investment boom is underway. This medium-term outlook is important because the Reserve Bank’s inflation target band is set within a medium-term framework.
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Over the medium term, the swing variable may well be the consumer. The key domestic question for the Australian economy over the medium term may be how consumer spending – in particular, retail spending – evolves. Consumer spending has been the relatively soft part of the Aussie economy. Consumers have been behaving like the wise squirrel, storing their savings away to tide them over the cold winter. So far, this consumer caution has been welcomed by the Reserve Bank. The soft growth in consumer spending has helped to balance the strong growth in mining and investment. That means it has been giving the Reserve Bank a helping hand in fighting inflation. But consumer spending may not stay soft forever. A tight labour market and strong growth in household incomes suggests that consumers could lift spending – but so far, they have not done so. It might be instructive to take a look at the extra disposable income households are receiving from the strong recent growth in jobs. One way to do this is by considering consumers’ additional consumption from each addition dollar in disposable income: economists call this the marginal propensity to consume (or MPC). A rise in the MPC generally results in higher consumer spending. MPC fell sharply over 2009 but recovered in late 2010 and now sits above the long-run average.
Back to normal? We believe the perceived risks shackling consumers will fade as we move through 2011 and return to more normal levels in the second half of this year. This change in trend for consumer spending would coincide with an expected uplift in business investment, the mining-investment boom and the rebuilding phase that will follow the floods and cyclone in Queensland and Victoria. Over the medium term, then, inflationary pressures will again be building at a time when there
Terms of trade index 2009–2010
is likely to be little spare capacity in the economy. This in turn increases the likelihood of further tightening from the Reserve Bank later this year. The season of natural disasters we experienced over the first quarter of 2011 led financial markets to reduce the amount of tightening priced for this year and push out the timing of rate hikes. A recent survey of 18 financial institutions revealed that the majority of the economics fraternity believe the first rate hike for 2011 will occur in the September quarter of the year. We are expecting the Reserve Bank to resume tightening in August. We expect two rate hikes of 0.25 per cent each: a rate hike in the September quarter followed by another hike in the December quarter. This timing would allow the Reserve Bank to assess the near-term impact from the disasters and navigate through the waters of near-term uncertainty from these disasters. It will also assist the Reserve Bank in wading through the current renewed volatility in financial markets. Still, however, we would not completely rule out a rate hike being brought forward; there remains some risk of an earlier move because the Australian economy could be recovering strongly by the middle of this year and the Reserve Bank has a reputation for taking a pre-emptive approach. Of course, all this assumes that we experience no further black swan events …
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Join our live economic teleconferences
Receive up-to-date market and economic information As a valued customer, St.George Corporate & Business Bank would like to invite you to join our live and interactive economic updates via teleconference.
St.George Economic Dial-In Details: Date:
Held monthly, each interactive 40-minute teleconference will be hosted by St.George Bank Chief Economist, Besa Deda, and will provide you with an update on recent market events and the economy followed by an open question and answer session.
10 May 2011
To join the teleconference, please dial 1300 136 094** and enter the guest pin of 916720 followed by the # key.
27 September 2011
If you experience any difficulties or have any questions, please contact your Relationship Manager.
28 June 2011 26 July 2011 30 August 2011 25 October 2011 29 November 2011
Time*: Sydney/Canberra: 10.00am – 10.40am Melbourne: 10.00am – 10.40am Brisbane*: 10.00am – 10.40am Perth*: 8.00am – 8.40am Adelaide: 9.30am – 10.10am
Teleconference number: 1300 136 094** Guest pin: 916720# 36 teleconference George www.stgeorge.com.au/george *Note: Each will be hosted in NSW on Thursday at 10.00am (Sydney time). Adjustments will need to be made for your state – please take into consideration daylight savings. **Phone calls made from a fixed line will be charged at a standard local call rate. Calls from mobiles will be charged as per your agreement with your mobile phone service provider. St.George Bank – A Division of Westpac Banking Corporation ABN 33 007 457 141 AFSL 233714 ACL 233714. STGW0808 04/11
St.George says | Auto finance
Auto finance
Peter Bell
General Manager of Sales and Distribution, Auto Finance, St.George
St.George’s Auto Finance solutions allow businesses to operate with greater certainty and flexibility. Peter Bell, General Manager of Sales and Distribution at Auto Finance Head Office, explains how.
“S
t.George offers a comprehensive range of Auto Finance packages that help you keep extra cash available for your business, or free up cash to allow you to pay down your mortgage,” says
Peter Bell. St.George Bank Auto Finance funds an average of 100,000 vehicles per year and has a 30-year history of helping business people get the vehicles they need. “We allow customers to structure payment dates to coincide with their cashflow periods,” says Peter. “This will help your business to always have enough cash on hand and enough working capital to take advantage of other business opportunities.” St.George fi nances all types of motor vehicles, from brandnew Ferraris to economical used cars – which means customers can get the cars that best suit their needs and their budgets. “We make it as easy as possible to get fi nance fast,” says Peter. But St.George Auto Finance has more going for it than just speed; it also has a broad reach and a deep product offering. “We cover more than 30 per cent of Australia’s new-car dealers, so customers get a one-stop shop for funding and purchasing. We provide an online application system as well. Customers can get an answer within two hours – and we can usually settle the next day.” “In addition, we have a full suite of Auto Finance packages,” he notes. “This means we can help businesses by providing them with a range of innovative fi nance options.” St.George Auto Finance options include hire purchase, fi nance leases, chattel mortgages, novated leases and consumer loans.
Pedal to the metal In the year to 2009, St.George Auto Finance increased its financing to the new-vehicle market by 13 per cent. More than 30 per cent of all new vehicle franchised dealerships in metropolitan and major regional centres around Australia are accredited by St.George. It also has a market share in excess of 12 per cent of all retail passengervehicle finance transactions within the Australian market.
Peter says the strength of the Australian automotive market over the past two years has been impressive. “A significant number of dealerships closed in America and the UK but in Australia, very few dealers closed,” he notes. “The strength of the motor industry is one of the top indicators of how an economy is travelling. This shows that the Australian economy certainly is in a much better position than [those of] most other industrialised countries.” Peter believes the team’s success is directly related to the State Managers, who average over 20 years’ experience, and their very stable and professional teams. “I think it’s due to the professional and efficient way that Australian dealerships run their businesses – and the close interaction they have with their fi nanciers,” he says. “Overall, the industry is expected to remain strong, and we are excited about what we bring to the market in terms of product and service.”
St.George Auto Finance is offered by St.George Finance Limited ABN 990 010 944 71 and St.George Motor Finance Limited ABN 53 007656 555. Conditions, fees and credit criteria apply. Before making a decision it is best t read the terms and conditions, which are available on application. This information is prepared without knowing your personal financial circumstances. Before you act on this, please consider if it is right for you.
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St.George says | Working capital
Working capital solutions
Paul De Angelis
Head of Trade & Cashflow Finance, St.George
St.George Bank’s newly integrated Trade Finance and Cashflow Finance service is providing business customers with more flexible ways to free up cash and access working capital. Paul De Angelis, Head of Trade & Cashflow Finance, explains.
W
hile there has always been an overlap in the financing solutions offered by Trade Finance and Cashflow Finance, in recent times we have seen businesses seeking a combination of the two,” says Paul De Angelis, Head of Trade & Cashflow Finance for St.George. “Cashflow Finance is suited to a wide range of businesses – but it is particularly suited to businesses such as manufacturers and wholesalers, who have a lot of working capital tied up in trade receivables. This is why we’ve seen an increasing number of St.George Bank customers who could benefit from either a Cashflow or Trade Finance option.” Paul believes Trade Finance is now about much more than its historical definition – of supporting a client in sourcing product from offshore and selling product, here or overseas – would suggest. “I think that in today’s economy, Trade Finance is suited to any business that is involved in trade, which can include domestic purchasing and selling as well,” he says. “By merging and integrating the Trade and Cashflow Finance businesses, we can provide an end-to-end working capital solution that takes into consideration the customer’s entire supply chain, whether they source product domestically or internationally, ... sell product domestically or internationally, or even if they do both,” Paul adds. With the two areas combined, St.George Bank can focus on ensuring that customers have the most effecitve and efficient working capital solutions in place. “Now that we are working as one team, we are well placed to provide even deeper support for businesses according to their specific industry needs,” he contends.
Trade Finance A suite of products and services designed to make participation in global markets easier: it includes letters of credit, collection of export proceeds, post-shipment finance and payment to overseas suppliers in AUD or foreign currencies.
Cashflow Finance Tools that allow companies to access the money tied up in outstanding invoices and (with approval), in stock, plant and equipment, without the need for bricks-and-mortar security, smoothing out the peaks and troughs that affect any cashflow.
Paul says he’s not the only one who is excited about the opportunities that will flow from the new combined service structure. “All our Relationship Managers are enthusiastic about it,” he says. “The integrated service will enable Australian businesses of all kinds to really maximise the value of their balance sheet assets for the purposes of accessing working capital.” “Funding businesses according to their needs is what St.George Bank does – and we do it very well,” Paul asserts. “Our financing solutions are designed to grow with each customer’s business so that generally speaking, as their sales increase, we can respond by providing additional funding. That means Australian businesses can capitalise on opportunities that arise and keep improving, strengthening and growing.”
Conditions, fees and credit criteria apply. Before making a decision it is best to read the terms and conditions which are available on application. This information is prepared without knowing your personal financial circumstances. Before you act on this please consider if it is right for you.
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Time out | Hong Kong
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West east meets
Hong Kong is truly a global city and a metropolis like no other. The ultimate gateway between the cultures and traditions of east and west, it boasts one of the world’s busiest ports, a bustling, award-winning airport, a wealthy, diverse and thriving population and a frazzled, frenzied persona that’s utterly compelling. by nicholas Walton
A
relatively small territory of islands and mountains, Hong Kong has been culturally, politically and physically shaped by its history. It was a British colony after Queen Victoria’s victory in the Opium Wars and western influences are ingrained in the way Hong Kong is run. Though 95 per cent of its seven-million-strong population is ethnically Chinese, the city couldn’t be more different than neighbouring China, which took back control in 1997 under a ‘one country, two systems’ regime.
Getting your bearings The city’s geography often confuses people. Contrary to the postcard depictions of seemingly endless tower blocks backed by the shadow of iconic Victoria Peak, Hong Kong is far more than just one big metropolis. Hemmed in by the South China Sea and the Pearl River Delta, the city can be best described in four parts. Hong Kong Island, on which Victoria City (the original British settlement) was built, is famed for its narrow alleyways and towering apartment blocks, which cling like lichen to the slopes of Victoria Peak. Across Victoria Harbour is the Kowloon Peninsula, which is split from the New Territories (once a physical buffer between the British
colony and then-Communist China) by a range of high peaks. Finally, there are the Outlying Islands, of which Hong Kong has 200, including mountainous Lantau, home to the airport and some of the city’s best hiking trails; Lamma, a small, close-knit community popular with expats; and Cheng Chau, a fishing island once populated by pirates.
Arrivals and departures Most visitors arrive in Hong Kong through its modern airport, which opened in 1998. Hong Kong International is the region’s primary gateway into China and a massive cargo and passenger hub, serving a wide range of fullservice and budget airlines as well as high-speed ferries to Macau. An efficient high-speed train system – the Airport Express – links passengers with the city in 26 minutes and offers a useful pre-check-in service and complimentary shuttle transfers between its stations at Lai King, Kowloon and Hong Kong Island and key city hotels.
Houses of slumber From the most expensive and palatial hotels to digs that are affordable but comfortable, travellers to Hong Kong
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Macau Macau (above) makes for a great daytrip; there is plenty of colonial architecture, a relic of the city’s time as a Portuguese colony, and you can check out the likes of colourful Senado Square and the facade of St Paul’s Ruins while snacking on local Macanese delicacies, including pork-chop buns and bacalhau (dried and salted cod). You’ll find authentic Macanese cuisine at Club Militair, the former Portuguese barracks, and be sure to take a cab to Lord Stow’s Bakery in sleepy Coloane for the best egg tarts in town. For the glamour of casinos, head to the Venetian, the world’s largest integrated resort, or to City of Dreams, with its worldclass shows and dining.
Above: Macau, like Hong Kong, is a fascinating mix of influences, from architecture to culture and all stops in between. Opposite: W is a perfect example of the mix of old and new that is an integral part of Hong Kong’s character and appeal; dragonboat racing on the harbour; the MTR is a world-class – and world-famous – railway.
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Although 95 per cent of its seven-million-strong population is ethnically Chinese, the city couldn’t be more different than neighbouring China. are spoiled for choice. Iconic five-star properties on Hong Kong Island include the Four Seasons in Central, the Grand Hyatt in Wan Chai and the Upper House in Admiralty, which is located in a nest of hotels that also includes a Shangri-La, a J. W. Marriott and a Conrad. For more affordable options on Hong Kong Island, look to the likes of the Traders Hotel in Shek Tong Tsui or the Crowne Plaza flanking Causeway Bay. In Kowloon, the most famous hotels, including the Peninsula, the InterContinental and the Sheraton, can be found on the water’s edge, offering stunning harbour views. Newer openings in Kowloon include the stylish Mira on Nathan Road and the boutique Hullett House, located in the former Marine Police Headquarters. The Langham Place Mongkok is the city’s first art hotel and is situated in one of its most thriving neighbourhoods. More affordable options include the Holiday Inn Golden Mile and the stylish Hyatt Regency in the new K11 complex.
Feeding frenzy When it comes to dining, Hong Kong’s culinary scene is varied and ever-evolving. Some of the best restaurants can be found in Tsim Sha Tsui and in Central’s Soho district. Start out with a drink on Wyndham Street, with its bustling pubs and chic cocktail bars, such as Tivo,
Angel’s Share and Rayne. For the city’s best cocktails, head to Le Boudoir, an underground absinthe parlour on Wyndham, or down to Wellington to taste the unique concoctions of Mingle. When hunger strikes, you can do as the locals do and peruse the menus along Staunton and Elgin Streets, two parallel one-way roads easily accessible by the mid-levels escalator. Or wander down to the emerging restaurant hub on Gough Street. Some of the best restaurants in the city, still, can be found in its hotels, including Zuma at the Landmark Mandarin Oriental, Ming Court at the Langham Place, Felix at the Peninsula and Caprice at the Four Seasons – also home to the city’s best yum cha.
Out and about Between meals, there are a couple of must-visits for any traveller to the city. Start out by taking the Peak Tram up Victoria Peak. The tram leaves from Admiralty, climbing through the mid-levels at a surprising angle to reach Hong Kong’s most famous vantage point. The best time to visit is at dusk; to avoid the crowds on your return trip, take the bus downhill. Another great view can be found at the Big Buddha on Lantau. Take Ngong Ping 360 cable car from Tung Chung for an exhilarating journey up and over Lantau’s towering
Events & festivals
W Hong Kong If you’re looking for an innovative, unforgettable place to stay, W (above) may be just what you’re looking for. Its décor and internal layout represent a fusion of traditional and modern elements, neatly encapsulating the essence of Hong Kong. With its range of suites offering spectacular views, and eateries showcasing local and international dishes, it makes a great base camp for your Hong Kong expedition.
peaks to the base of the massive bronze Buddha, which can be reached by way of 200 steps. To complete your Lantau journey, take the bus from the Big Buddha down to Tai O, the city’s most famous fishing village, before travelling back along the coast to Mui Wo and taking the slow ferry to Central in time to see the cityscape light up. If you’re interested in seeing the New Territories, take the MTR (Mass Transit Railway) to Wong Tai Sin station and the city’s most esteemed temple. At Chinese New Year and on weekends, crowds of Hong Kong residents line up at the temple to say prayers and have their fortunes told. Finally, a walking visit to Mongkok and Jordon reveals the Ladies and Temple Street markets. Hone your bargaining skills at the many clothing, souvenir and gadget stalls, have your chi (energy) tested and try some of the city’s brilliant street food, such as its iconic curry fish balls.
City escape Of course, Hong Kong is a gateway to Asia, and a visit to Macau and Shenzhen can easily be added to any Hong Kong trip. High-speed ferries to the gambling mecca of Macau leave from both Tsim Sha Tsui and Sheung Wan on Hong Kong Island and take about an hour. Red Turbo Jet ferries travel to the main Macau ferry terminal, while blue Cotai ferries service the Cotai Strip, home to the Venetian and City of Dreams complexes. Another worthwhile daytrip from Hong Kong is to Shenzhen. You’ll need a passport and Chinese visa to venture into this city, which has bloomed from a fishing village into a metropolis of almost nine million people in less than a generation. Here, you’ll find the food and shopping far more affordable than it is in Hong Kong. But no matter where you go or how you get there, Hong Kong is a city that will leave an indelible impression.
HOnG KOnG SEVEnS March; Causeway Bay A highlight of the sporting calendar, when for three days the world’s elite rugby union teams compete in Hong Kong. www.hksevens.com CHEUnG CHAU BUn FESTIVAL April–May; Cheung Chau Island This traditional Chinese festival centres on Pak Tai temple on the tiny fishing island of Cheung Chau. The festival features a parade and an entertaining bun-tower-climbing competition. DRAGOn BOAT FESTIVAL June; Stanley and Sha Tin Celebrated by both expats and local Chinese, the festival sees teams of rowers compete to the rhythm of a beating drum, replicating the attempted rescue of famous Chinese poet Qu Yuan, who drowned himself in the Mi Lo River. www.hkdba.com.hk SUMMER SPECTACULAR June–August Featuring shopping specials, dragon-boat races, Lan Kwai Fong Beer Fest, a film festival and a live concert, this is a massive seasonal celebration. www.discoverhongkong.com THE HUnGRY GHOST FESTIVAL August Around the time of the seventh moon in the lunar calendar, restless spirits are said to roam the Earth and, at this time, believers make efforts to appease the ghosts and ancestors. MID-AUTUMn LAnTERn FESTIVAL September Celebrates the brightest moon of the year, with mooncakes and lantern carnivals. Don’t miss the 67-metre-long Fire Dragon, found in Tai Hang.
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Time out | Food and drink
This that goes with
Want to match wine and food with confidence? George talks with Matt Skinner to bring you expert advice and recommendations. by kristy barratt
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ccording to Australia’s homegrown wine guru Matt Skinner, food and wine matching is a combination of art, science, emotion – and trial and error. Every week, Matt’s Melbourne-based office is sent anywhere from 60 to 120 bottles of wine to sample. Monday is ‘tasting day’, when the passionate sommelier and his team attempt to sample as many wines as possible, compiling notes for Matt’s annual wine guides as they do so. This exhaustive ritual plays an important role in the ongoing process of sorting the great wines from the ordinary. When you don’t have the dollars to spend quaffing hundreds of bottles of wine, though, how do you ascertain which of them tastes good and matches well with particular foods? Start by asking for advice, Matt suggests. “If you’re dining out, your wine waiter or sommelier are great ports of call for information,” he says. “They’re there to help you. If you’re cooking at home, ask the owner of your local independent wine shop for a recommendation.” Being a sponge for information is nothing new to Matt, who began his love affair with the industry via a job in a suburban drive-through bottle shop. He’s come a long way since then. For a start, he helped co-found Fifteen restaurant in London with Jamie Oliver and Tobie Puttock. Fifteen became well known from Oliver’s TV shows: the restaurant was used to train a group of 15 disadvantaged youths to become chefs. (Fifteen is a social enterprise and the Fifteen Foundation has also opened restaurants in Melbourne, Cornwall and Amsterdam.) These days, Matt consults to restaurants across Sydney and Melbourne and contributes to many well-known magazines, including Gourmet Traveller WINE.
Balancing act The first step in matching wine with food, says Matt, is to find the right balance. “The idea is to try to evenly match the weight of your wine with the weight of your food,” he explains. “At home, I’ll often make a Vietnamese salad with coleslaw, carrot, mint and shredded peanuts – all light,
delicate ingredients. You want your wine to be in the same mould, so that eliminates heavily wooded wines. Aromatic whites would be the pool to pick from.” The next step is to create links between the flavours in your food and wine. Whether you match the flavours or contrast them, you’re likely to discover certain links; the more of these you unearth, the better the match will be. What’s more, when you find the right links, even the most absurd food-and-wine combinations will work. Matt shares the quintessential Australian example of eating fish and chips on the beach and drinking great champagne out of plastic cups. “The acid in the wine cuts through the fatty texture from the batter and creates a great match,” he says. “Similarly, tempura works really well with sparkling wine and champagne.” Other strange food-and-wine combinations that Matt recommends include liqueur muscat with manchego cheese; sparkling red with Peking duck (duck, spring onion, cucumber and pancake); and black sherry poured over vanilla ice-cream. Refinement is the final piece of the food-and-wine matching puzzle. When he was consulting to Fifteen full-time, Matt would have two meetings a day with the restaurant’s chefs and wine staff. The team would educate each other on which food specials matched well with certain wines. More importantly, it was a chance for the wine staff to educate the chefs on the value of using less seasoning so as to refine the balance of flavours in the food and wine.
Top local drops Matt’s suggestions as to the best Australian wines to drink now: • Tyrrell’s Belford Semillion 2004 (Hunter Valley, NSW), RRP $34 • Rogers & Rufus Rosé 2009 (Barossa Valley, South Australia), RRP $17 • Giaconda Chardonnay 2008 (Beechworth, Victoria), RRP $140 • Trentham Estate Pinot Noir 2009 (Riverina, New South Wales), RRP $14 • Cherubino The Yard Mourvèdre Grenache Shiraz 2009 (Dwellingup, Western Australia), RRP $25 • Cofield Max’s Footsteps Moscato 2009 (Rutherglen, Victoria), RRP $14 (375ml) Matt Skinner’s Wine Guide 2011 is available in all good bookstores.
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“My advice is to try and not add too much seasoning, like salt, chilli and vinegar, to your food,” says Matt. “Always season less than you would normally and let the wine be an extension of the dish.”
Rules: old and new
Red wine goes with red meat and white wine with fish. Right? Not necessarily. Traditionally, there are reasons why some foods work better with certain wines. Matt refers to it as the “science behind winemaking”. He accepts that there are conventional rules that should not be broken, particularly in cities heavily influenced by Michelin stars, such as Paris, New York and London, where tradition still thrives in the food culture. But in Matt’s own travel to more forward-thinking foodie destinations such as Barcelona, San Francisco and Tokyo, he’s found the reaction to traditional food and wine ‘rules’ to be quite contrary. “Some people like to push boundaries and try new things,” he explains. “I like to sit in the middle. I know there is a science behind why some wines work but I also like being surprised by new things.” A traveller at heart, Matt loves getting off the beaten track to uncover local food and wine hot spots. He believes matching food with wine is as much about experience and emotion as it is about art and science. One of Matt’s fondest such memories is of Piedmont, in the north-west corner of Italy. “At the end of our meal, the waiters brought out three sorbets: fennel, blood-orange and mint,” recalls Matt. “The dessert was served with a glass of moscato, which was five per cent alcohol: fizzy, cold and sweet. After a big meal, it was the perfect refreshing combination.”
Increasingly, the wine industry is opening its arms to a new wave of producers inspired by trends in Europe and not afraid to break with tradition. Looking to Navarra in northern Spain, Matt suggests the region’s bone-dry, savoury rosé is one of the biggest influences on our current love affair with the food-friendly wine. Meanwhile, local wine producers are starting to adopt alternative varieties from other parts of the world, such as gewürztraminer and tempranillo. Varietal blends are also hugely popular and often, you’ll find white and red blends with four or five different grape varieties combined. “There’s a wine revolution taking place in Australia at the moment,” says Matt. “I don’t think we’ve ever had the depth and level of excitement in terms of the style and number of wines we’re producing. There’s an interesting movement towards cooler-climate shiraz, which tends to be lighter and a bit more spicy. We’ve also come a great distance with pinot, particularly in places like the Mornington Peninsula, Yarra Valley and Tasmania.” It certainly is an exciting time for Australia’s wine industry, and food and wine lovers aren’t hesitating to take full advantage. Experiment and enjoy!
“My advice is not to add too much seasoning ... Always season less than you would normally and let the wine be an extension of the dish.”
Matchmaker What is the best wine to drink at a barbecue? Matt offers a practical guide to matching wine with food, whether you’re dining inside or out. Food: northern Indian Matt’s verdict: This food is predominantly cooked in ghee, with slow-braised sauces and spices. Wines that are low in tannin with soft, fruity flavours work well, as do white wines with low acidity. Recommended drops: merlot, Malbec, viognier and gewürztraminer
Recommended drops: rosé, cabernet shiraz blend, semillon-sauvignon blanc blend
Food: Barbecue Matt’s verdict: Don’t over-complicate it. Most often, the food at barbecues has been marinated, so you need something that has a fair bit of flavour as well as structure.
Food: Vietnamese and Thai Matt’s verdict: The cornerstones of this food are sweet, sour, salty and spicy flavours. Recommended drops: riesling and gewürztraminer
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Food: Creamy food Matt’s verdict: You need acid; the acidity in the wine helps cut through the creamy sauce and cleans your palate. Recommended drop: chardonnay
Food: Roast dinner Matt’s verdict: I’m a purist at heart. At home, I like to cook a roast chicken and stuff it with lemon, garlic and thyme. Recommended drop: chardonnay Food: Cantonese Matt’s verdict: Chinese food, particularly from the Szechuan and Hunan regions, can be tricky cuisine with which to match wine, given that it’s quite fiery; however, with traditional Cantonese food, stay light and delicate in your wine choices. Recommended drops: chardonnay, pinot noir
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George 47
Parting thought | Dhiren Kulkarni
Parting thought
Dhiren Kulkarni
Chief Information Officer, St.George
Dhiren Kulkarni is a quiet achiever, building innovative banking systems to serve the needs of customers, be they individuals, small businesses or large corporations.
O
ur responsibilities are multi-faceted but like most IT departments, my team has two jobs. The first is ‘hygiene 101’: providing stable, reliable technology for basic transactions on all platforms and channels. That’s looking after today – just keeping the lights on and the systems running. But we also need to look after tomorrow and take care of future needs in the banking world. That’s how we make sure we give the customer the best service and how we add value to the group. Thinking about this is easy but doing it is hard. The key is our strategic plan, which is informed by user feedback. I really believe in getting out and seeing how our systems work. It was a lesson I learned very early. When I worked at Advance Bank [which merged with St.George in 1997], we had a bank branch platform that I thought was fine. But there were complaints from the branches that it wasn’t meeting the tellers’ needs, so they couldn’t give the service the customers deserved. So the CEO took two people each from the technology and business sides and put us through teller training. Then each of us had to work in a branch for three weeks. It was the first time I really saw our system. I saw that we weren’t relating to our business or to our customers. It was a big experience for me and I’ve always remembered it. That’s why, for example, my team has been hard at work on the Bank’s Business Banking Online site [www.stgeorge.com.au/bbo]. We built the site to help customers handle payroll, statements, access rights and transactions limits, overseas payments and more – all from a website that’s easy to use and very secure. And
now, based on customer feedback, we’re in the process of building version two. We’ve also led the market with mobile banking applications. We decided to get in early because we saw how popular smartphones were becoming. It’s been a big success for us. And now we’re already on the second and third iterations of our mobile apps while our competitors are just getting started. We always think of the customer first. All our innovation is based on adapting current technology to meet our customers’ specific needs. That helps us minimise risk, for ourselves and for our customers. And we don’t have an innovation department; we want it to be in people’s DNA, part of the way we think. We like to focus on specific problems, so we think about the customer and figure out how we can make day-to-day banking better. I also think small innovations make a big difference. You don’t need to re-invent a system or release a new product or [service] to improve things … sometimes all you need to do is make sure the systems you’ve got are working better, or to make one key improvement, and you’ll make a huge difference. I think it’s the right approach and we’ve been lucky enough to win some awards, which is very nice! But our number-one priority is to deliver a better experience for our customers. [Editor’s note: Dhiren’s approach is working; last year, St.George won six Corporate and Business Banking awards, including Best Internet Bank and Most Innovative Bank, at the Australian Banking & Finance Corporate and Business Banking Awards 2010. The site was also awarded Banking Website of the Year in Money magazine’s Consumer Finance Awards for 2010.]
The information and opinions contained within George magazine (henceforth referred to as ‘the Information’) are provided for, and are to be used only by persons in Australia. The Information may not comply with the laws of another jurisdiction. The Information is general in nature and does not take into account the particular needs, objectives or financial situation of any potential reader. Please read the disclosure document for details about St.George products. It does not constitute, and should not be relied on as financial or investment advice or recommendations (expressed or implied) and is not an invitation to take up securities or other financial products or services. No decision should be made on the basis of the Information without first seeking expert financial advice. Information is current at the time of publication and is subject to change. St.George owns copyright in the Information unless otherwise indicated. The Information should not be reproduced, distributed, linked or transmitted without our written consent. St.George does not guarantee the accuracy of any information or advice provided by third parties. Any links to third-party websites that may appear within George magazine are provided only as a convenience to you and in no way imply any affiliation with and/or sponsorship, endorsement or acceptance of any information or views provided on those linked websites. St.George Bank does not monitor the linked websites for accuracy or content, and does not necessarily endorse the information contained thereon. St.George Bank, a division of Westpac Banking Corporation, ABN 33 007 457 141 AFS License No. 233714.
48 George
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The Business Bank you’ll want to stay with. Business never stands still. It’s continually on the go. Thankfully, you can rely on one constant St.George. By offering a dedicated Relationship Manager who specialises in the Professional Services industry, they’re able to provide innovative solutions to issues including cash flow, hedging and financing. So why not move to a bank that truly understands your bottom line.
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St.George Bank - A division of Westpac Banking Corporation ABN 33 007 457 141 AFSL 233714.