New Sunrise, one of Australia’s leading independent retail groups, recently held its 2023 Business Forum, outlining its achievements in 2022 and the strategic direction for 2023 and beyond. The event was attended by over 100 trade partners, suppliers, and manufacturers at the Hilton Hotel, Sydney on 2 February, 2023.
Reflecting on 2022, this was New Sunrises biggest year to date. New Sunrise Managing Director Steve Cardinale thanked his team and supplier partners, for working together throughout 2022 in achieving significant growth, not only reflected in store numbers as a group, but most importantly in retail growth for members.
National Merchandise Manager Joseph Alessi presented the group results and outlined the merchandise strategy for 2023 and beyond. He also presented some of the key challenges faced by independent retailers throughout the year of 2022 including supply chain, rising inflation and costs, securing labour and future outlook for fuel. Despite these challenges, New Sunrise is committed to embracing new opportunities and taking the company to the next level. Mr Alessi presented some of the exciting new initiatives the group is undertaking in the digital and online space, which will further propel the company forward. New Sunrise is dedicated to staying ahead of the curve and continuing to provide its customers with exceptional service and products.
New Sunrise’s vision is: “United with our combined mission to make a difference in the community, in the community of our retailers, by helping people enjoy life and get on with their day. We place that vision at the top of our strategy house” Mr Alessi said. “Our culture is based on working together to achieve mutually beneficial outcomes. It’s about embracing and understanding strategy to drive growth for the network. We do what is in the best interests of our retailer members, category performance and ultimately for satisfying consumer’s needs. Our foundation is built on true partnerships, of respect and care, with our retailers and supplier partners alike and we recognise honest collaboration in achieving our mutual goals.”
Mr Alessi also highlighted the New Sunrise’s proud association with Heart of the Nation, which saw the accomplishment of funding the placement of 400 Automated External Defibrillators, AEDs into member stores during 2022. In addition, the New Sunrise Shocktober campaign saw over $120,000 raised for the Heart of the Nation campaign, and its associated “World’s Largest CPR Class” which was shown on Channel 9 in November 2022. The event was hosted by Greg Page and Richard Wilkins.
New Sunrise Marketing and Brand Manager Andrew Cardinale presented the marketing results and future brand plans for the group’s lovable mascot, Sunny the Kookaburra. Mr Cardinale explained, “Sunny represents the best independent and local businesses in Australia and serves as a brand ambassador and mascot”. Sunny has been flying high throughout 2022 to achieve the goal of having all Australians see Sunny during this time. Over the last 18 months, Sunny has made 60 million impressions across TV, radio, and social media.
“We did this by infiltrating our brand and loveable mascot Sunny into all aspects of the marketing mix from above-the-line TV campaigns all the way through to the in-store customer journey,” Mr Cardinale said. “We have the best story to tell. Our story is our biggest competitive advantage, our story cannot be copied, and only we can tell it. The only way we can get our story out there is by utilizing the reach from TV, radio, and digital channels. We are able to measure what we do by tracking and analysing the performance of each campaign, but importantly, it increases our engagement with consumers and drives conversion, which drives more people, more frequently into our stores!”
Looking ahead to 2023, New Sunrise aims to build on its successes from 2022 and continue to drive growth and innovation in the retail industry. The company has identified three key areas of focus for the year ahead:
- Accelerate brand awareness and Love Local through above the line advertising
- Be truly convenient with Grabbit local
- Trade the occasions and continue our consumer giveaways.
New Sunrise aims to educate and change consumer behaviours so that they know when they see Sunny in a Sunrise Enjoy local store, they know they are supporting a network of family businesses working together that will offer family-friendly service, outstanding food and promotions, clean amenities and most importantly, a store that is truly local – owned and run by locals who have a genuine care for their local community.
Overall, the New Sunrise 2023 Business Forum was a resounding success, with the company outlining its achievements from the past year and setting out a clear strategic direction for the year ahead. “New Sunrise is well-positioned to build on its successes and achieve even greater success in the years to come.”
