Retail Managing Director - Job Profile

Industry Leader

Meet one of Australia's Retail success stories: Stephen Heath

Few thirty something's could boast about running a national retail giant. Stephen Heath could have, but that's not his style. His focus is on getting the job done. By the age of 34, Heath was appointed Managing Director of the national sporting re­tailer, Rebel Sport. Heath had been the golden boy among Harvey Norman's stable of talent, demon­strating a knack for turning floundering stores into profitable operations. When Gerry Harvey bought majority shares in Rebel in 2001, he needed some­one to take the reins. Heath was an obvious choice and Harvey had never shied away from giving his best people a chance.

Now 40, Heath is still young but a more seasoned business leader. In his short time as Rebel's chief, he has repositioned the business from discount sports store to a high end national sporting retailer. He has instigated and endured a complete company restructure and facilitated a takeover from a promi­nent private equity group. He has increased the business's profitability from $4 million to $40 mil­lion a year and in his time, Rebel Sport has grown from 37 outlets to 62 stores Australia wide. The ARA Retailer spoke with Stephen Heath to shed some light on his rapid rise to the top of the retail sector.

Heath says that retail was not his initial career of choice. From his account, it was something he stumbled across through a series of connected cir­cumstances. He started off working in the IT sector in computer operations, programming and system design. Heath quickly came to the realisation that the operational side of IT wasn't quite what he expected and he decided to give sales a try. He discovered that he had a talent for sales and after several successful stints in IT sales, he made the transition into consumer electronics wholesaling.

While working as a wholesaler, Heath developed extensive networks with electrical retailers and it was here that the seeds were sown for his retail career.

Heath's take on success:

"To really make a positive impact on the business, it is important to have good people. It is also essential to provide them with meaningful input and incen­tives to keep them motivated. Without talented and highly motivated staff, I wouldn't have achieved what I have to date."

Finding the path to fulfilling your ambitions:

"If it wasn't for Gerry Harvey I wouldn't be doing what I do now. The great thing about Gerry is his attitude to people and opportunity. If you want to succeed, he will never put anything in your way."

"If you look at the Harvey Norman Group, all CEOs, MDs and heads of operations came from the floor - usually starting out as store managers. I've never seen him bring in a CEO from another company. This is a powerful message he sends to everyone in the company."

Heath's advice to anyone pursuing a career path similar to his own is to ensure they find a company that will provide them with the opportunity to pur­sue their aspirations.

"In my opinion, hard work always outdoes talent."

Original interview by Terry Strates - Australian Retailers Association, for full interview see; Issue 8 - The ARA Retailer.