for those interest the random notes I took at yesterday's AGM were:
- CEO described it as ''an outstanding year"
- lengthy discussion about culture: "'The Reece Way"......in short, enhanced customer service leads to their competitive advantage.
- EBITDA margins were suppressed in 17/18 due to costs associated with the Morsco acquisition as well as continued heavy investment in IT.
- Operations highlights included:
1. ongoing investment in customer service
2. opened 28 new branches: 12 Greenfield 16 Acquisitions (these exclude the acquired sites that were part of Heatcraft and Edward Gibbon).
3. acquisitions of Heatcraft and Edward Gibbon
4. continued investment in online capabilities
5. launch of Max App see video on this page:
https://www.reece.com.au/max-app
6A. continued growth in product range, eg. Roca Smart Toilet
https://www.reece.com.au/bathrooms/roca-in-wash-inspira-smart-toilet
6B. continued growth in product range, eg. The Grohe Product Range are now the fastest growing brand within the history of Reece Plumbing.
https://www.reece.com.au/bathrooms/brands/grohe
7. NPS Score of 65 increase from 64 last year = 75% of customers rate Reece a 9 or 10 out of 10.
8. ENPS Score of 59 = 70% of employees rate Reece a 9 or 10 out of 10.
9. Reece want to be the digital nework for their customers, they are releasing the capability (part of Max app I think) which will allow plumbers to post jobs that they need to get done, effectively so they can subcontract the work to other plumbers, this has just launched. Plumbers will also be able to photograph and upload the work they have done in the past to demonstrate their capabilities.
10. Reece have now put solar energy on 57 of their sites throughtout Australia.
11 Reece Tech are redeveloping the core IT systems of Reece, looking to enahnce the online offering and ''digitalise Reece." Online sales increased 100% if FY 17/18.
12. The Reece Roadshow went to regional areas for the first time in FY 17/18.
https://www.reece.com.au/outlet/2017/may/the-reece-roadshows-are-back-for-2017
13. Excited about the upcoming move of Reece HQ to Cremorne in Melbourne, will help to attract staff.
- Morsco Acquisition: Major highlight for the year, results in Reece being in the top 5 Plumbing companies in the world by market cap. Plan is to share knowledge and expertise with Morsco. It provides diversification for Reece. The US plumbing market is fragmented, they think it will consolidate over the decades to come. Morsco leadership team have just spent time in Australia. Reece had discussions for 2 years with the owners of Morsco. There have been no surprises after the first 3 months of ownership. 3 Reece staff have now transferred across to Morso. Reece's approach with Morso will be to:
1. Take a long term view.
2. Listen / Watch / Learn
3. Work strategically with the Morsco team
4. Be guided by the Reece Values
5. Be humble.
Reece think that the customerised service offering that they provide in Australia is not available in the U.S., they think that approach will work in the US, they are going to give it a go and find out.
Meeting was this year held at the Sofitel in Melbourne, I'd guess 300 in attendance, very tempting scones with jam and cream were being offerred by unfortunately I needed to go and didn't get to taste them.
(20min delay)