It has been 25 years since Total Tools was started. Today, the company boasts 38 stores across Australia and a loyal team of employees, suppliers, and customers. Tim Cockayne, CEO of Total Tools, spoke to The CEO Magazine about the growth of the business in the past few years and how he and his team are building on those foundations.
The CEO Magazine: You became CEO more than two years ago. How has the company developed over that time?
Tim: The business actually started 25 years ago this year, and it started as a cooperative. Approximately six years ago, it changed into a franchise business. When I started two and a half years ago, the business was probably 50-per-cent franchise and 50-per-cent cooperative in the processes and systems that they operated under.
Together with the board, we have built a strategic plan towards opening 113 stores across Australia, and in the past two and a half years we’ve basically reset our team, moved the location of our office, and built the infrastructure to be prepared for that growth. We’ve now gone from 30 stores up to 38 stores. Over the next 12 months, we’ll actually open 12 stores. So, having done all the heavy lifting work to build that structure, we’re now ready and prepared to cope with the growth in the store network that we’re putting in place.