Notes from the two-day executive strategy offsite held at the Margaret River venue, 19–20 September 2024. Attendees: Emma Rodriguez (Managing Director), David Chen (CFO), Marcus Kim (CIO), Sarah Thompson (COO), Lisa Nguyen (GM Customer Experience). Facilitated by an external strategy consultant.
Strategic priorities agreed
The team agreed the following priorities for the FY25–FY26 horizon, in order:
- Store refurbishment programme: refresh the 12 oldest stores, beginning with Perth CBD flagship. This is our number-one capital priority.
- Range and supplier consolidation in homewares to lift margin.
- Loyalty programme relaunch to lift repeat purchase.
- Selective regional expansion (2–3 new stores).
Capital allocation
David presented an indicative capital envelope. The bulk, roughly $6.5M, is earmarked for the store refurbishment programme over two years. A modest technology pool of around $300K was set aside for "keeping the lights on" and small POS stabilisation work.
| Priority | Indicative spend |
|---|---|
| Store refurbishments | $6.5M |
| Homewares range/supplier work | $1.2M |
| Loyalty relaunch | $800K |
| Technology (BAU / POS stabilisation) | $300K |
Discussion: technology & AI
Marcus raised the longer-term opportunity in data and AI. The team's view was that AI is not a near-term priority for RetailFlow. The consensus was that the legacy POS and inventory systems must be stabilised first, and that the business should "watch and learn" on AI rather than invest now. Any AI work was parked as a "future horizon" item for review no earlier than FY27.
Other notes
- Sarah flagged supply-chain cost pressure heading into FY25.
- Lisa to bring loyalty relaunch concepts to the November board meeting.
- Agreed to keep headcount flat through FY25.
Minuted by the Office of the Managing Director, September 2024