The National Retail Association has recently announced the appointment of three new Directors to its Board, adding to the depth of industry representation in Australia’s peak retail organisation.
One of the new Board members is Antony Moore, General Manager of Lotteries – Retail at Tabcorp. We had the opportunity to sit down and talk to Antony briefly, and find out why he decided to join the board, what he hopes to achieve, where he sees the industry headed and what advice he would give to small businesses to survive and thrive as online and physical retail becomes integrated.
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Read the short interview
Why did you join the NRA Board?
We’ve been members of the NRA for probably 5 or 6 years now, and have had a great relationship with the NRA. They do some great work to support our retailers, and network of small businesses. We have a really great ability to ring Dom[inique], the CEO, and talk when we need some help or some advocacy particularly through COVID, so we really appreciate what the NRA do and their ability to support the retail channel.
What do you hope to achieve as an NRA Director?
If I can play some small part in helping the retail industry be bigger, better and stronger, then I will have achieved my mission.
What opportunities do you see for the retail industry?
I think we are in a really exciting period of retail. I think customers’ expectations have changed and changed rapidly within the last 12-18 months throughout the pandemic. Really accelerating the customer experience is paramount, as retail has become a bit transactional over the last decade. We’ve got to put the fun and excitement back in – that’s what people want. We are creatures that like to interact and be social and I think our opportunity in retail is to really elevate that experience and deliver it more quickly.
What are the challenges for the retail industry?
I am a firm believer that physical is here to stay, and stay forever. It won’t be the same as it has been over the last twenty or thirty years, it’s going to have to be different. And so that brings the challenge of making that engagement, but with some longevity. The biggest challenge is going to be looking forward and seeing what the future looks like and how you actually match your experience to that.
How do you manage such a large portfolio of over 4,000 retail outlets?
In our business, we’ve got 4,000 magnificent franchisees, so they’re all businesses within businesses. A lot of our lotteries businesses sit inside a newsagent or pharmacy or convenience store, so they’re not standalone in many cases. So trying to influence that many people across most of the country, where they sit within other businesses – there’s big, there’s small, there’s medium – is a real challenge. So what we do is we use our best endeavours to use technology, communication and assistance of our retail team to support those retailers to understand what great looks like.
What’s your greatest accomplishment?
I think that’s a no brainer – it’d be family. I’ve got two great kids so how could you go past that?
What piece of advice would you give to small businesses?
I think the best piece of advice is to look forwards, not backwards. The world’s a changing place and there’s lots of opportunity, particularly to be successful if you’ve got that mindset in place. If you look backwards and keep thinking ‘could’ve, should’ve, would’ve’, and ‘why has this changed?’, then I don’t think that’s a great recipe for success.
What motivates you?
I think the thing that really motivates me is seeing retailers, and small businesses in particular, being successful externally and internally, seeing my team contribute to that, and help businesses become successful. Retail is an absolutely magnificent industry to be in. It’s a bit more scientific than it once was, so seeing people generate great results and great customer experiences – nothing gets any better than that.