Business Central February 2021

| 65 SEAFOOD INDUSTRY Egmont Seafoods Innovations help firm to stay ahead Kelly Deeks Egmont Seafoods has enjoyed a lift in online and retail sales. BDO is proud to continue to support Keith, Caleb and the team at Egmont Seafoods. Vision and performance. Backed by BDO. BDO, 10 Young Street, New Plymouth 4310 T: 06 759 9034 E: newplymouth@bdo.co.nz Audit | Tax | Advisory www.bdo.nz Backing Innovation From Start-ups to Succession Planning. EXPORTERS WHOLESALERS MARKETING & SALES I n the new normal business environment, where family business Egmont Seafoods is dealing in a highly perishable product, the company has to be able to react quickly to what the market is doing, think on its feet, and be willing to try new things. Egmont Seafoods owner Keith Mawson says Covid has changed the business environment for a lot of businesses, and for his, especially in the retail and online space. “We’ve seen a big lift in sales in both of those areas, and that’s due to a combination of things,” Keith says. “People now have more of a mindset around buying local and eating healthy foods. We’ve had a lot of support from the local Taranaki community for our retail shop and our online sales, and that is a pleasing thing for us. “Most Taranaki restaurants, takeaways, and hospitality businesses seem to have rebound- ed pretty well, maybe more so than other regions since we’ve never been reliant on tourism as a main driver for the economy.” One of the bigger challenges for Egmont Seafoods moving forward is the export mar- ket, and specifically the fresh chilled export market. Egmont Seafoods exports to Australia and the United States, and the logistics of get- ting product there creates difficulties around air freight space. “There are not as many flights going, so getting our product out in a timely manner is proving difficult. “There has also been a softening in demand in some of these areas as well, especially Melbourne with its lockdowns, and Melbourne was one of the places we’ve traditionally sold a lot of product.” So Egmont Seafoods has to make sure it is always in front of the market. It requires increased levels of communica- tion from the harvesting side of the business, so it can book freight well in advance of the product being landed. “With good communication from our har- vesting side, we can let our customers know what’s coming in in the next few days, and we can get to the markets before some of our other competitors.” Egmont Seafoods was selling online prior to Covid, Keith says, however moving the retail business to the online space was like going from zero to hero, or from very little to a lot. It tested the company’s systems and its online shop, and Egmont Seafoods found a few glitches to resolve. Some of the couriers were making changes to their own business models, packaging was running out, and the phone was ringing off the hook, so it wasn’t an easy transition. So Egmont Seafoods is trying new things. It has recently installed a new ordering system called Fresho for wholesale customers, which has helped to reduce the number of phone calls and simplify the ordering process. “Customers can now place their orders at a time that’s more suitable for them. Res- taurants know they need product at 9pm or 10pm when they finish service, so they can order then rather than having to wait until the next morning. When we arrive at 5am or 6am that order is ready to go.” “With good communication from our harvesting side, we can let our customers know what’s coming in in the next few days, and we can get to the markets before some of our other competitors.”