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When university graduates Andrew and Amy Earles took over the family business in 2014, they were bringing fresh ideas and energy to a long-established blind manufacturing company.
This year Fashionline member Stan bond celebrates 50 years in business in South Australia.
The Earles represent the new generation of young entrepreneurs running multi-generational blind industry businesses in Australia. Often university educated, they are taking the reins from their parents’ generation and bringing a new perspective to management.
“This industry is super practical, so while I’m university educated, what I also bring to the table is problem solving and an ability to see the big picture,” says Andrew Earles, who holds degrees in Human Resource Management and Marketing.
“The big difference between my dad’s generation and mine is that I am trying to run Stan Bond as business, not just make a good blind. I’m very conscious of the customer experience and how the Stan Bond brand is reflected in the marketplace.”
“This business still always seems to draw us back to the coal face. The owners of our client businesses are still often the best salespeople, technicians and problem solvers. I’ve had to learn to step away at times and put systems in place that are designed to enable rather than take over.”
When asked if he thinks running a business that has been going for 50 years provides a safety net in the industry against failure, he comments: “ No, I don’t think so; it is as much a curse as it is a blessing!” “Yes, you have loads of past customers, but you are less nimble. Our long-established customer and sometimes even staff get stuck in the old ways of doing things. There is sometimes push back if we change a product range or introduce new technology.”
Maintaining high levels of skill and expertise is an ongoing challenge, he says.
“All the things that make our industry difficult also gives us the competitive edge. Having a diverse product offering is what protects us in the future: for example take bottom rails, the more design we include, the more intricacy and the greater level of skills required. The threat is, whether those skills
are being transferred. Or are we losing those skills?”
“Being in business for 50 years has given Stan Bond more trust wit customers in the marketplace and more legitimacy within the blind industry. And being in the Fashionline Group has meant I can contribute to the group with our long history of manufacturing, but it also helps me stay sane. Being able to discuss the same challenges as other blind industry owners gives me the confidence to keep going.”
