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FIELD MARKETING Strikeforce 1926 W.K. King starts as a spot broker; later forms W.K. King Sales 1953 C.C. Hamilton starts C.C. Hamilton and Co. 1950s The conversion to self- service stores involved putting up items on display, and letting the packaging do the talking. Customers made their own choices instead of being handed goods by store staff. Australian Retail 1960s After adding more brands to the portfolio, W.R. King added field representation as a service expanding on what his father (W.K. King) had established. 1960s Woolies launched the first supermarket, followed by Coles. 1970s Different services began to be developed and offered by food brokers who originally started as commission agents. C.C. Hamilton grew to become a master wholesaler. 2007 Strikeforce officially becomes Strikeforce AMC, after merging with AMC. Late 90s/ 2000 To streamline operations and cut costs, a union of sorts was formed, where the businesses remained separate entities while putting together one front — what we know as Strikeforce today. 2019 Strikeforce AMC acquires the Blueprint Group - A sales & field marketing group. Additionally, ‘merx’, a field management software solution is built in-house with global expertise from IBM, and launched. 2021 A new beginning - The launch of Strikeforce’s brand new state of the art headquarters, in Melbourne, complete with Virtual Store facility to compliment additional offices in Brisbane and Sydney. Woolworths and Coles become Australia’s biggest retailers, dictating the course of the food retail industry in Australia. 1980 1990s When the internet hit, technology rapidly increased. From inventory tracking to new product lines, the 90s modernised merchandising massively. Consolidation begins of independent retailers. C.C. Hamilton & Co win the National Small Business of the Year award under ‘Non-Manufacturing’ in 1988. Barcodes at supermarkets are official. Instead of having the staff memorise the price of every item in the store, they just need to know how to operate barcode scanners. 1979 2000s what his father had established, adding more brands to the portfolio. In the 1960s he added field representation as a service. This was a big shift within the business and marked the beginning of the merchandising services we know today. Before then, field merchandising was never outsourced, but the concept was built as a result of shared expenses – for example, the cost of driving reps around, having a reps’ day, etc. It was the first major step towards the retail giant known as Strikeforce AMC today, popularly known for its field work and field activation services. The mid-1950s brought major moves from Woolworths and Coles, which perhaps instigated this shift towards field merchandising. Woolworths had officially become Australia’s first nationwide retailer and Coles stores were making the shift to self-service stores. This called for an overhaul of grocery store management, as self- service required new space planning, distribution chains and logistics. Store managers and staff were no longer directly involved in the sales process, which meant packaging, floor space planning and displays suddenly becoming a lot more important. By the 1960s, both retail giants had evolved into supermarkets, making a necessity of field merchandising as a service. 1970 to 1980s: consolidation of independent retailers Leading up to the 1980s, the industry was roughly broken down into 70 per cent broker work and 30 per cent field work. With no formal food brokers or merchandising, it was a case of consultants simply popping in, seeing a product and giving a company instructions. Different services began to be developed and offered by food brokers, who originally began as commission agents. For example, CC Hamilton began with handling specific state accounts and sales, until a bottled milk powder manufacturer approached the company to become its master wholesaler for all accounts and sales. Beyond this client, the business began to evolve and adapt to every client. When Sarah Lee approached CC Hamilton to be involved purely with sales and on-top commissions, the company developed a separate branch for sales and commissions. The services provided could involve state office work, acting as account managers or conducting sales with the Woolworths and Coles state offices. In some instances, the storage and distribution of stock for some companies was a part of the services offered. Due to its consistent work, CC Hamilton & Co won the National Small Business of the Year award under ‘non- manufacturing’ in 1988, which was a pretty big deal back in the day. For the others, it was a similar story. As each client evolved, so would the business. One had to constantly adapt to stay relevant. This became even more of a priority when major retailers began to consolidate, inspiring independent retailers to do the same, with independent accounts becoming less frequent, especially with retailers continually buying out independent supermarkets. 1990 to early 2000s: beginnings of a broker alliance To respond to these changes within the industry, the state independent brokers began rapidly to focus on building and maintaining relationships TO PAGE 68 APR, 2021 RETAIL WORLD 67