Question for readers with young children: do you still have an airing cupboard full of blankets, or do you have sleeping bags for your kids?
If it’s the latter, we’re willing to bet at least one is from the Gro Company, one of those businesses that have attained a real foothold in the hearts and minds of much of the nation. Founded by Rob and Ouvrielle Holmes in 2000, it was a classic example of bringing to the UK a product that was widely available in Europe.
The Grobag, which remains the company’s core product, was a nickname the pair gave to the childsized sleeping bag recommended by a family member for the Holmes’ second child, who was having trouble sleeping. “We can’t be the only ones,” went the thinking and a new business was born.
Over the past decade, the Gro Company has sold 3 million Grobags and spawned a range of related products. Since October 2011 the company has been under the stewardship of Christian Jones, who had joined as commercial director as part of a management buy-in a year earlier.
He CV is impressive. He joined United Biscuits as a finance graduate, but moved into sales and marketing within 18 months before taking on his first international role as a sales and marketing director for Del Monte. In a role he describes as a “baptism of fire” he introduced products to new European markets and got his first taste of distributor management. He learnt a lot, he says, from working on the Asda and Somerfield accounts.
Jones was then headhunted by Tropicana, one of PepsiCo’s brands, to fulfil a commercial brief covering Northern Europe. He spent six years with PepsiCo before leaving in 2006. “This was where I learnt how to understand and control a business – it was a young area for supermarkets to get used to, and a new way of bringing that product to the market. I learnt a lot about category marketing, insight and the need for resonance with customers.”
Those are all elements that have coloured his time with Gro. “I was brought in as commercial director to help the founders understand how to grow. They had a broader perspective and showed great maturity in realising the business needed a wider set of skills to go on to the next phase.” While much of that has been about using Jones’s experience to reach new territories, there’s a people story there too.
“My over-riding philosophy is about having the right people in the business; about understanding fully what the core of the business is, its values and delivering on the back of that,” he says. “I came in with the aim of doubling turnover in four years and we’ve grown it by 32 per cent in 18 months.” When you consider the thirdparty distribution part of the business, the underlying growth is even stronger.
Jones understands what influences his market: during our interview he touches on Mumsnet, the all-powerful website for parents – this is an industry where reputation is everything and good communication is vital.
He says: “Consumer interaction is massive for us – research tells us that 99 per cent of consumers would recommend our product, which is a testament to the work we’ve done in 18 months. We’re the brand leader in the UK. We’re a member of the Baby Products Association and are very involved with the Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths.”
The overall impression is one of thoroughness, of seeking out what can give the business the edge in any given area. Jones says: “I believe in partnering for success in everything we do, whether that’s our banking relationship, advice, or PR and marketing – where we specifically wanted to use a South West agency. It’s not just about us using a service, we want them to believe in what we do. Everything is collaborative.”
Devon’s as good a place to do that as anywhere, he reckons: “We want to develop people. If you develop people from within, they understand the core values. There’s no reason you can’t be a world-class business based in Devon – we’ve strengthened the management team, but virtually all our staff are locals born and bred.”
That philosophy underpins the international aspirations Jones has. “In essence we want to grow the business with world-class partners – we’ve got to have the right people with us who have the passion for the product and the understanding of the brand. It needs strong stewardship for sustainable growth. We are a global player and we’ll move into the areas that will support that aspiration, no one territory is automatically more important.”
Inroads have been made in the US and Australia in particular. But don’t expect to see too much diversification from Gro – it’s all about maintaining the quality and reputation of the core products as cheaper rivals try to muscle in.
“There is a new product development pipeline, but if we’re going to do something we have to be passionate about it and also believe it can make money,” says Jones. “We have a fairly broad portfolio – there’s the bag, the swaddle, which has grown 64 per cent, and the Gro-egg temperature gauge and Gro-clock, which are going well.
“We like to be the first mover and we like to be innovative, although it has to be for the right reason. The only way to stay ahead is to do what we do well – to make sure we keep quality standards high and keep listening to our consumers.”
Also in: February 2012
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Bright young things
By the time this magazine reaches you, the fifth National Apprenticeship Week will be just around the corner. We haven’t put apprenticeships on this month’s cover just because we enjoy chortling at Lord Sugar being cartoonishly cantankerous with gel-topped young thrusters on the BBC (although who doesn’t enjoy that?), but because this is something that can make a genuine difference in the South West.
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Regional Review - Altered images
Cider. Cheese. Farming. Basket weaving. The popular view of Somerset easily succumbs to lazy clichés, despite the fact that agriculture and food and drink production make up less than one tenth of its total economic output.