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After a 50 year career and 21 years in business, Phil Hughes has taken a step back from his business to allow for son Ryan to head up the management side of things.
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“I’ve taken a demotion,” Phil joked.
“I decided to go back to the bottom of the business working as a delivery driver, and I love it.
“I am getting out on the road every day, catching up with customers and it has been great fun.”
Asked if could ever see himself retiring Phil was very quick to answer “no.”
“No I get up in the morning, and I want to go to work, I still love it,” he said.
While Phil won’t be stepping aside fully, he has put into place a plan to allow the business to continue to grow under Ryan’s watchful eye.
“Succession planning is critical for all businesses and Ryan is doing a super job,” Phil said.
“Ryan is always out looking for new opportunities, and we are at a stage now where we are looking at state contracts because we have the expertise and knowledge base within our staff to start expanding our reach.”
Succession planning is critical for all businesses and Ryan is doing a super job
- Phil Hughes
The business has continuously been growing over the last 21 years and expanded even further two years ago.
“Just over two years ago we moved our warehouse from Invermay Road to a larger premises at Broadland Drive,” Phil said.
“This allowed us to relocate or technical staff to a bigger area and have a larger range of stock on hand.”
Looking to the future, Ryan said his main focus right now was to take stock and improve how they work as a business.
“The plan for the business is to consolidate where we are at in the market we are trying to maximise our opportunities, and from a business processing point of view we are trying to limit inefficiencies,” he said.
“Long term, there are plenty of opportunities for us to expand into the North West and the south, making us a statewide business but that is a five on ten-year plan.
“We will also be looking to expand our staffing in the near future, as the business grows we are always on the lookout for talented people.”
While the future is bright, both Phil and Ryan urged current and potential customers always to think local.
“If we are to continue to expand we need people to continue to support local businesses,” they said.