Wednesday, 17 August 2016

Ground Breaking…


In the culmination of plenty of planning & hard-work, Friday 5th August saw Specialty Fashion Group & Toll Group announce the start of their partnership in constructing a new state-of-the-art distribution centre in Sydney’s South-West.
LEFT TO RIGHT: John Sidoti MP, Member for Drummoyne, Parliamentary Secretary for Roads, Transport, Industry, Resources and Energy; Brian Kruger, Managing Director, Toll Group; Gary Perlstein, CEO, Speciality Fashion Group; John Marsh, Managing Director, Logos; Ned Mannoun, Mayor of the City of Liverpool.

A core part of the SFG Logistics five-year plan, the new 32,000 square meter facility will be at the cutting edge of logistical solutions for Omni-channel retail in Australia.
Moving from a largely manual facility in Homebush to one with advanced automation and an additional 14,000 sqm space will capitalise on speed of pick & pack, improved inventory, throughput volume and other enhanced capability to meet the change in customer demands as digitalisation moves to the forefront of retail business strategy.
SFG currently handles over 300,000 units per week of replenishment and online units which are sent out to the stores network or individual customers. The new warehouse will double that capacity, with the further potential to increase to over 1 million units per week. We have worked closely with Toll, over the design phase to create a facility that focuses on efficiencies such as store product sequencing, auto e-commerce bagging, and automatic carton optimisation.
To celebrate the partnership of this innovative new distribution centre and start of the build a soil turning ceremony took place on site, in Prestons last Friday, attended by key Toll executives and our own CEO, Gary Perlstein along with members of the SFG Logistics team.
Tolls’ Managing Director, Brian Kruger said; "Our aim at Toll, is to connect people and products, and we look forward to working with Specialty Fashion Group to enable a fast, efficient and cost effective supply chain for its customers."
Gary Perlstein also spoke of the collaboration saying; "We have worked with Toll to create a supply chain solution that enables our Omni-channel strategy across all brands, for a streamlined and memorable customer experience."
The facility will employ over 100 warehouse operators when the final phase of the construction, by the LOGOS Group Australia, is completed in October 2017.
“I am extremely proud of what the SFG Logistics team, in partnership with Toll, have been able to plan and achieve to date on this project.” Said Alex Linton, GM of Logistics. “The next 12 months of construction & transition will be both exciting & challenging times but the end result, of being at the forefront of logistic solutions, to aid business growth, will be extremely rewarding for everyone on the project. Ultimately, the customer is at the centre of all our business decisions at SFG and the impact on the overall customer experience will be huge. I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge and thank all those involved, as it is a tremendous achievement.”
The commemorative spade!
So what’s next on the horizon for the Logistics function at SFG? A focus on the expanding international operations, in particular a consolidation of the warehousing in the US, optimisation of the bonded shipping hub in China as well as importing directly to Australian domestic regional ports are all on the cards!
Well done to all those involved on this huge endeavor. A massive step forward to put SFG ahead of the game in retail and into the same arena as the big, international players.

Credit to Big Rigs 

Wednesday, 3 August 2016

Meet Penny........

It’s not really a revelation to hear that the role of a receptionist is crucial to many a business. They create the first impression and reflect the business values & culture.

Here at SFG HQ we are very aware of having the best person/people in the role and are lucky to have two wonderful ladies who job share the role at SFG Reception. Penny & Nina are true superstars, hard-working and ever smiling. They are approachable, engaging and always happy to help!

The other day our Editor was in the buzzing reception hub at SFG, chatting to Penny and she had some wonderful things to say about her role & time so far at SFG, so we thought we’d share her thoughts. Meet Penny………

Ahhh, Penny, you are looking lovely yet again today – wearing any of our brands?
I am! City Chic top and earrings today!

Such an ambassador! Love it! Right, so tell us a bit about you?
I’m married with two beautiful boys aged five & three. I love travelling, especially to Greece and exploring the beautiful islands & villages where I can indulge my passion for food and cooking. I also love spending time with friends and family.

I Joined SFG almost one year ago in a part-time Reception role that I share with my lovely colleague Nina. I work 5 days a week either a morning or afternoon shift and handover with Nina at lunch-time. This has been the perfect arrangement to allow me to balance my child-care arrangements, secure fulfilling work and ensuring work/life balance.

What attracted you to the role at SFG?
Being a mum, I was attracted to the hours but more importantly I loved the SFG brands. I grew up with Katies and Millers as my Mum and Grandmother would frequently shop there. I also love fashion so when I saw the role advertised, I thought why not work within the fashion industry!
Penny @ SFG reception in Sydney

As a receptionist, what does your role entail?
The reception area at SFG is super busy, so my hours flyby! My day to day tasks include meeting and greeting clients, customers & suppliers, answering incoming calls and receiving and sorting deliveries. We have anywhere from 50 - 200 parcels delivered each day! I’m also responsible for sending out all international samples and managing the couriers as well as responding to email enquiries and requests from SFG team members.

What’s your favourite part of the role?
People! My day centres around interacting with people all day from all different walks of life, whether that’s my colleagues, suppliers, customers or our couriers. This gives the busy role a lot of variety.

What are the perks to working here?
There are so many perks working at SFG! One the best ones being our generous staff discount (40%) which means there is an even bigger excuse to shop and I have a happier husband! We are also able to attend samples sales, again receiving a significant discount as well as getting to see the latest fashion trends, first, before it hits the stores. I was recently asked by one of our suppliers if I would mind wearing a few bits of their jewellery, which are currently stocked in our stores, and the best bit is I get to keep it! However, by far my favourite part of working at SFG is the team culture we have, everyone is so friendly and approachable it means coming to work is always fun!

What would your top tip be to someone considering a role at SFG?
Don’t be intimated by the stereotypes that the Fashion Industry has. At SFG that couldn’t be further from the truth – the people here are down-to-earth, friendly and welcoming and the culture is great! If you want a great role, in a buzzing environment all you need to do is demonstrate the SFG values and work hard and I’m sure you would be a success!

Now Penny, I don’t want to cause any ruffling of feathers internally but who is your favourite SFG brand & why?
Hahaha – I love them all! But if I was pressured to pick I would say that I have two favourite brands, City Chic and Katies; I love what City Chic represents in terms of giving confidence and sass to plus-size women to wear whatever they want and to look & feel fantastic! And with Katies it’s about accessing latest trends and fashions whilst also being affordable and keeping some classic pieces.

Favourite fashion trend of the moment?
I’m obsessed with leather look coated jeans at the moment they are so versatile, you can dress them up or down, are comfortable but with a bit on an edge!

Who’s your style icon?
Penny's dream destination
My current style icon is Sally Obermeder! I love her sophisticated & classic style, she always looks so well put together without trying too hard.

Now, obviously you want to be at SFG forever (!) however if you weren’t working at SFG what would you be doing?
I would be living on an island somewhere in Greece, sunning myself with a cocktail, sampling delicious food!