William FletcherChief Strategy Officer · Essays & perspective

William Fletcher / Chief Strategy Officer

Three arguments about what a mid-sized supplier should refuse

Perspectives from a life in leadership.

The archive.

Retailer advertising networks

  1. Retailer advertising networks5 min read

    Retailer advertising is trade spend until it proves otherwise

    Australia's large liquor and grocery retailers now sell suppliers advertising built on their own shopper data. A supplier should judge that money as trade investment, against a control group, and should hesitate to pay for evidence it cannot see.

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Export markets and trade policy

  1. Export markets and trade policy5 min read

    A reopened market deserves a ceiling

    When a closed export market reopens, the instinct among Australian winemakers is to rebuild what was lost. The better lesson from four years of duties is that no single market should again be able to decide a company's results.

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Portfolio strategy

  1. Portfolio strategy5 min read

    Volume is not a moat for a mid-sized winery

    Mid-sized Australian wine companies have long kept a commercial tier to fill their wineries and give them weight with retailers. In an oversupplied industry that volume has become a liability, and selling it brings obligations a board should accept openly.

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