Catch of the Day
The big retailers Myer and David Jones are finally starting to move into online retail. But the first mover advantage in this arena goes to a select few – and Catch of the Day is among them.
Founded by brothers Gabby and Hezi Leibovich, Catch of the Day appeared on the inaugural Smart50 awards back in 2007. And since then, the company has grown from strength to strength.
Revenue hit $350 million last year and the company’s success lies in constant innovation – new sites have appeared under the Catch label and sites have also been let go.
Catch of the Day caused a stir last year by snapping up fellow Smart50 company Vinomofo and then letting it go almost as quickly.
ispONE
Not all the Smart50 have gone on to bigger and better things. There’s a cautionary tale in the form of former Smart50 finalist ispONE, which collapsed last year.
ispONE presold prepaid access to Telstra’s 3G mobile network, but was placed into voluntary receivership with corporate receivers Ferrier Hodgson.
The collapse occurred after ispONE lost a court battle with Telstra, which resulted in a cessation of its wholesale agreement with Telstra.
There was some relief for creditors, ispONE’s 29 employees and 61,000 customers after the collapsed business was sold to CONEC2 later in the year for an undisclosed sale price.
Aussie Farmers Direct
Aussie Farmers Direct made the Smart50 back in 2010 and since then the home delivery food business hasn’t looked back.
Forget the supermarket price wars, Aussie Farmers Direct connects farmers and consumers directly and ensures tight control of its supply chain. The business has done the hard yards in finding suppliers and has invested millions of its own money into actually producing products like bread, milk and butter.
In 2012 the home delivery food business partnered with Organic Dairy Farmers of Australia in a $1.2 million butter manufacturing joint venture.
Sumo Salad
Fast food chain Sumo Salad made the 2009 Smart50 to great acclaim with its healthy take on fast food.
The business was founded by Luke Baylis along with business partner James Miller in 2003.
But fast forward to 2012 and the business was bought by one of Australia’s wealthiest families, with a 60% stake sold to the Tulla Group, run by the wealthy Maloney family.
Now the company plans to triple its 100 locations and even pursue a float on the ASX as it grows beyond the restaurant category and expands its brand.
Cara Waters is a former SmartCompany editor. Previously, Cara was a senior reporter for the Financial Times’ website and worked for The Sunday Times in London.
