Matthew Clews, General Manager at HOOP
The new general manager at HOOP, Matthew Clews, has spent the majority of his career working in finance and commercial roles for some of the most prominent FMCG companies, such as DB Breweries, Griffin's Foods, Danone Dairy (UK and Ireland), Red Bull, and Bluebird Foods.
His experiences within these leading businesses gave Clews the tools to build on his commercial skills to help him become more than just a beanie, instead shaping him to become a collaborative strategic business partner to support businesses to focus on growth.
"I've learned a lot along the way regarding people and how important they are to all businesses to succeed," said Clews.
He emphasised the importance of all within the business needing to be on the same bus heading in the same direction, with the right behaviours. As a pivotal, ever-evolving industry, working with the FMCG sector provides an exciting element to business, as no day is ever the same.
"It's my job as a senior leader to enable the business to focus on the right things while navigating the ever-changing world."
In joining Hoop, Clews has drawn upon his experience with a business that transitioned to HOOP in the past, which has given him special insight and firsthand knowledge of HOOP's customer-centric approach and commitment to delivering exceptional service.
"Their focus on continued technological advancements as well broadening their suite of services to meet customers' needs make it an exciting business to join and ultimately made my decision to join very easy."
Clews is committed to maintaining HOOP's momentum and customer-centric approach, growing the team, and driving efficiencies to propel the business forward.
HOOP's Strategic Plan to develop as a business is underpinned by dynamic systems, robust processes, and a focus on its people, which will position it perfectly for growth. Clews aims to embed a leadership style based on respect, teamwork, accountability, and continuous growth to cultivate a high-performing culture.
Clews highlighted HOOP's dedication to innovation. He said it stands out for its forward-thinking approach, whether through technological advancements, collaboration with clients on future needs, or industry partnerships to enhance efficiencies.
Looking ahead to the future of the FMCG industry in 2024, Clews anticipates the ever-changing nature of the industry is not likely to change, with the introduction of the Grocery Code of Conduct being an example of this.
These changes will create significant industry disruptions, particularly as Foodstuffs North Island wants to take all merchandising in-house.
"This will impact many suppliers who currently manage all their merchandising support for both Foodstuffs and Woolworths in-house."
Suppliers traditionally have a large team of Territory sales managers who manage their merchandising team. Suppliers' internal model will not be viable when relinquishing more than 50 percent of service requirements. Clews said that a number of those are shifting to an outsourced solution. This means there is risk and potential loss of some business in servicing Foodstuffs. However, there were also opportunities where the support of other suppliers and retailers was increasing.
"We also see a great opportunity in providing those companies that have passed over their merchandising to Foodstuffs a compliance service to ensure they are receiving what they are paying for, and although this may be seen as an extra cost for these businesses, it is more about ensuring they get the service they have signed up for."
In 2024, brands will continue under margin pressure, so HOOP has embedded within its business operations to review call cycles and ensure clients receive the best ROI from each store. To support this, HOOP has appointed a data analyst to review its store data with store sales to identify the best in-store execution and value-for-money servicing.
Key initiatives moving forward for HOOP are underpinned by its people-centric ethos, focusing on developing and growing the HOOP team in 2024. In 2023, HOOP implemented a new CRM tool that has enhanced data collection and real-time access for its clients. Future steps involve advancing data analytics reporting to provide better insights and support profitable growth for clients.
HOOP's Co-Packing operation, initiated a few years ago, is thriving. Clews plans to explore opportunities in reworking suppliers' products for relabelling, multi-packs, shelf-ready and pallet displays, similar to practices in Australia. HOOP will also continue to enhance efficiency and provide insights into the POS and Asset storage and distribution business.
"So, as you can see, it's going to be a busy time at HOOP."
