47ACAPMAg (May 2012)

trade member profile:

the distributors

PROFILE

The Distributors have positioned themselves as one of the leading Australian independent convenience segment wholesalers, specialising in the confectionery, snack food and drinks industry. Since 1981, the company have utilised their extensive nationwide support network, to guarantee the highest level of service in the industry.

Founded by a group of five wholesalers, The Distributors have grown to 38 warehouses nationwide that stock over 5,000 lines. From day one this founding group set about to develop a cooperative of focused owner operated businesses that are attentive to the needs of local retailers. This core value means that The Distributors deliver superior service to the convenience and route market.

“Today, we still uphold these core values, which have served us so well,” said Alessandro Garofalo, newly appointed General Manager.

“We also pride ourselves on specialised customer service to the point where our service levels exceed 99 percent. Our ultimate goal is to deliver in full on time, every time.”

Aim to deliver, no matter what

This philosophy was no more evident than during the NSW floods

of 1998, when waters rose between Wee Waa and Narrabri, peaking at over eight metres. Residents were evacuated from their homes and no vehicles were allowed in or out of the area.

There was one exception to this rule however; The Distributors truck was the only vehicle the SES allowed to get through the 30km of flood water over the ten days. Police were informed of this and threatened to press charges, however, the driver and company were let off.

“That story became public because a national news helicopter covering the emergency happened to film the truck as it headed through the flood waters,” explained Alessandro.

However, The Distributors have done much more behind the scenes to deliver on their promise. The cooperative has setup an ordering system that is easy and simple to use and their qualified professional members are renowned for delivering to metropolitan areas typically within one day, and up to a few days for regional areas.

Creating partnerships“At The Distributors we believe a strong, supportive partnership is vital to business success,” said Alessandro.

“By working closely with each supplier and retailer, we are able to

present a number of opportunities to drive incremental sales.”

Using exclusive targeted promotions to drive sales and sophisticated marketing tools to report product sales as well as category trends, The Distributors deliver a lot to their partners. Their customer catalogue Price Busters, features monthly specials, latest product releases, category reviews and more. They also offer a range of tools and resources businesses can use to analyse sales and market trends to identify which products to carry based on their local area.

This attitude has meant that many major suppliers such as Kraft, Nestle, Mars, Smiths, Snack Brands Australia, Wrigley, Campbell Arnotts, Ferrero, Frucor, Kelloggs, Red Bull, Stuart Alexander and Unilever Lipton to smaller and imported brands have become trading partners.

While, through delivering on their promise and developing partnerships, The Distributors have built a retail customer base of around 50,000 businesses.

New challengesFollowing the recent appoint of a new General Manager, Alessandro Garofalo, The Distributors are ready for the next chapter in the company’s success. Italian born and raised, Alessandro has spent the past 20

or so years working for a number of international organisations.

“After completing my University studies, I moved to Parma where I developed a passion for good food and an ever growing passion for cycling. In that part of Italy everyone rides a bike…they need to… in order to burn the fat of their fantastic cuisine: Parmigiano Reggiano, Prosciutto di Parma, Lasagne alla Bolognese, Salame di Felino,” said Alessandro.

Despite his love of this quintessential Italian lifestyle, he relocated to Sydney to join Barilla, a pasta and sauce manufacturer, where he was employed to devise and implement the brand launch into Australian supermarkets.

Before joining The Distributors, Alessandro moved to the big apple for just over two years where he assisted in establishing a FMCG brand into North American retailers. He then returned back to his new home of Sydney, to commence his new exciting challenge with The Distributors. “Today no business can successfully be everything to everyone, but you can and must be the best in your core competence,” said Alessandro.

“With this in mind, The Distributors can, and will be, the best in servicing Petrol and Convenience outlets, then growing a larger healthy business around this core. In order to do this we need to leverage the solid local roots all our members have into a cohesive and united national platform.

“Hence I will focus on the National Support Team, using my energies to support the development of best in class partnerships with both suppliers and retailers, contributing to make The Distributors the leading Wholesaler in our industry,” he explained.

• Cherie Mildwater

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Alessandro GarofaloThe Distributors truck during the NSW floods of 1996