Barbeques Galore cooks up retail gamechanger

Angus McDonald, CEO of Barbeques Galore, chats to us about how the leading barbequing retailer is shaking up its traditional and e-commerce retail formats to create unrivalled customer experiences.

For many Australians, there is nothing more iconic than the humble barbie.

It is a time-honoured tradition that expands beyond snags, steaks, and prawns – it is an experience for everyone. Although the nature and mission of the barbeque remains unchanged, there have been noticeable shifts in consumer tastes and subsequent cooking methods.

The backyard BBQ is being transformed by new techniques such ‘low and slow’ smoking or the ‘reverse sear’, and the exploration of different cuts, rubs, sauces, and marinades in catering the perfect family feast.

One such retailer who is at the forefront of these changing consumer trends is Barbeques Galore, led at the helm by CEO and retail industry leader, Angus McDonald.

Since the brand’s inception in 1977, Barbeques Galore continues to evolve alongside consumer needs and remains committed to revolutionising the barbequing experience, whether it be through gourmet eats or suitable home goods for backyard barbequing entertainment.

“Since our beginnings more than 40 years ago, our business proposition has, and remains, centered on bringing people together around the flame.

“Be that creating experiences and memories together over the iconic BBQ in the backyard or conversing over a delicious meal cooked from one of our exclusive brands – we are here to help Australians make positive experiences they’ll remember, with our BBQ firmly at the centre of these shared memories,” said Angus McDonald.

“We therefore needed a retail format in 2021 that reflected this ambition, offering customers an in-store experience that was both equally educational and aspirational by showing them just how they can make memories themselves in the home with one of our leading and private label BBQs – no matter their barbeque preference or style,” Mr McDonald added.

It is no secret that many Australian retailers have experienced a tough year in terms of bricks and motar retail.

Despite last year’s tumultuous global events and ongoing restrictions, Barbeques Galore has emerged relatively unscathed and with a new omnichannel strategy to engage consumers.

According to KPMG’s 2021 Australian Retail Outlook, the leading trend in the future of retail operations points towards such an omnichannel approach in retail.

The strategy provides customers with the opportunity to have a fully-fledged shopping experience by combining experiences from brick-and-mortar and digital channels, leading to consistent and seamless customer experiences; something the brand remains committed to achieving.

Another key part of the brand’s market-leading success also lies in their retail visual merchandising and store layouts.

At Barbeques Galore, products come to life through live cooking demonstrations and cooking Master Classes, showcasing the abilities of different barbeques grills and diverse delicious recipes.

In combination with its physical stores, Barbeques Galore has also revamped its digital strategy through unifying their website, social media channels, and physical stores.

“Part of our retail store transformation involved new store retail layouts across our 87 stores, which included dedicated areas for cooking demonstrations to help customers understand how easy and comfortable our products are for at home entertaining, no matter your budget or BBQ’ing skill level, in addition to clever and creative online materials to help our customers find the barbeque that’s right for them and provide inspiration,” said Mr McDonald.

Not only has Barbeques Galore reinvented their brick and mortar stores to best showcase their merchandise but the brand has also been channeling investments to ensure its digital presence remain cutting edge, beyond its ecommerce capabilities.

The brands overarching digital strategy aims to bring the same high level of customer experience to an online environment, enabling customers the convenience of shopping wherever and whenever.

“We are also complementing our in-store retail experience with a robust digital engagement strategy.

“At the height of COVID we saw significant increases in engagement through our digital channels, including a tripling of online sales during that period.

A“s Australians contended with spending more time at home, our team delivered some really engaging campaigns and video content to connect with our customers during this time” Mr McDonald said.

These new strategies have been well-received, translating to strong results for the current financial year.

“We’ve been very pleased with how these updates are being received. In fact, we are seeing consistently strong results across our business, particularly in like for like sales growth, but also in customer feedback measures such as net promoter scores,” Mr McDonald said.

“Looking forward, we have a strong year ahead with the rollout of more new format stores, launch of a number of new products, and further investment in our digital capability.”