eKourier Jan 2017

FEATURES

Customer Feedback “I was in a rush to ring and get my business out of the way this morning when I telephoned Kennards in regards to my outstanding invoice (I apologise for the delays it has been very busy lately). However, the minute that my call was taken by Dianne, I found myself in a place we don’t go to often nowadays. I was glad to speak with Dianne, she made me feel that I was the only customer that you had in the whole of Kennards. Not that she wasted anytime in dealing with my call but it was in the way she did it that made me feel like a unique customer. It was so nice to speak with a real person and one that made the effort of showing how much Kennards values its customers. I know that you probably get many of these type of emails/ letters from customers and in partic- ular about Dianne’s customer service. However, that I am making time out of my busy schedule to type this email to her management is a testament to Dianne’s “customer service approach”. Dianne is a gem and you should use her to pass on her skills to any newcomer into Kennards. Well done to anyone in your Team that provided Dianne with her initial training and a great congratulations to Dianne for making my experience as a customer, one that I will use as a benchmark for other companies…including my own. Congratulations Dianne… you are an awesome Customer Service Officer.” “I rented a storage unit for six months, the staff were always helpful and there was always plenty of equipment to use to transport my equipment to the storage unit. I would highly recommend using these guys for storage. Furthermore the price they quoted was the price it was. Not like other storage companies. Kennards at Kingsgrove are truly trustworthy and highly recommendable.” “You guys are great to deal with. You make it easy and the team at Waterloo always helpful and friendly. I always return to using your services I never compare as you guys are the best.”

T he start of the financial year has had some interesting twists and turns. From a Storage Revenue point of view we are down on Budget by 2% and up on prior year by 5%. This is a positive outcome for Storage Income given the prior year growth was very strong. Expenses are generally tracking well, however we can try to control expenses in areas like electricity, cleaning, printing/ stationery and telephone Enquiries have dropped in total by 10% vs the same period the past year. A statistic for Sydney residents shows on average they used to move every 10 years and that has changed to every 25 years! Less moving means less need for storage space and merchandise. Given the drop in enquiries it is critical to convert each and every enquiry to ensure we don’t miss out on any potential customers. We have become aware of signifi- cant price reductions being offered by competitors and it is even more critical to promote the Kennards value add. ‘ ‘

Other Revenue is more of a concern showing a 10% reduction on prior year for merchandise and a 3% drop for Insurance Income. The drop in merchan- dise sales has only been experienced across Australia. NZ merchandise sales are still going well. To counteract this drop a Facebook campaign is underway as well as updates on the website to drive merchandise sales. This is an ongoing work in progress with more details to follow. Expenses are generally tracking well, however we can try to control expenses in areas like electricity, cleaning, printing/ stationery and telephone – every little bit assists. A saving of $50 at each centre every month delivers almost a $50k saving across the group in a full year. Our profit before tax and interest has grown a solid 6% over the prior year. Kennards profit as a percentage of revenue has improved 1% which indicates as a business we are becoming more efficient, a great reflection on all areas of the business. We have had some Team Member changes within the Finance Team and things are now beginning to settle down. We are keen to continue to deliver value add information in a timely manner to all our users both within KSS and externally. If there is anything you need support with, have a question or have an idea of where we could improve something or reduce costs, please get back to myself or anyone in the Finance Team From the Finance Team we would like to thank everyone for their ongoing support last year and wish everyone a great year ahead. Anthony Rous Chief Financial Officer

5 Kennards Kourier Jan 2017