Powershop takes top ranking on 2011 Deloitte Fast 50

9 November 2011

Powershop takes top ranking on 2011 Deloitte Fast 50

Scores highest ever growth rate in NZ Fast 50 history

Online electricity retailer Powershop has taken the number one ranking on this year’s Deloitte Fast 50 with a massive 5280% growth, the highest ever growth rate in the Fast 50’s 11-year history.

The annual Deloitte Fast 50 index, announced tonight at simultaneous events in Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin, ranks businesses according to their revenue growth over the past three years and sets the benchmark for high growth businesses in New Zealand.

Mobile phone network Two Degrees came second with a staggering 3762% growth, and Wellington-based telecommunications finance company Telecom Rentals – 2010’s Fast 50 winner – was third, with 987%.

National leader of the Fast 50 programme, Deloitte partner Matt McKendry, says Powershop’s achievement is not just remarkable for the stellar growth rate it achieved but also for how it has challenged a number of industry norms and effectively turned electricity retailing on its head.

“Powershop has developed a unique business model in the retail electricity market, by turning a utility into a consumer good. This has enabled it to engage with its customers in ways unheard of in an industry that’s been characterised by poor customer relations,” Mr McKendry says.

“They’ve really shown that courage, tenacity and innovative thinking can deliver outstanding success, even in a tough economic climate, by adopting a challenging mindset and not being confined to a conventional business model.”

Mr McKendry says this year’s index has shown that thinking outside the square and taking risks can pay dividends, and how a difficult economic environment often creates fertile conditions for innovative approaches to business.

“Many of the businesses on the 2011 Deloitte Fast 50 are culminations of new ways of thinking in recessionary times, both in terms of their service or product offering but also how they run their businesses,” Mr McKendry says.

These businesses have created dynamic cultural environments through the use of technology and communications tools which are not only meeting people’s needs around work-life balance, but also building workplaces which foster creativity and innovative thinking, he says.

To make the 2010 Deloitte Fast 50, companies had to achieve growth of 144%, while growth of at least 485% was required to make the top 10 on the index.

The 2011 group of Deloitte Fast 50 businesses grew the New Zealand economy by $594 million in the past three years and created 1502 jobs.

This year’s index also saw 16 businesses achieve sustainable high growth by returning to the Fast 50 index, with Synlait Milk making the list for an incredible fourth consecutive year, while Cook Brothers Construction, MedRecruit and Tuatara Brewing Company were all on the list for a third time.

Along with being the number one ranked business on the Fast 50, Powershop took out the national award for fastest growing retail or consumer products business, while Two Degrees won the national fastest growing technology business and Telecom Rentals the fastest growing business services business award.

Other national category awards went to online accounting software provider Xero, for fastest growing exporter, Christchurch-based K9 Natural Food was the fastest growing manufacturer, Salmac Insulation of Dunedin, which won the fastest growing mature business award for the second year running, and Global Horticulture New Zealand was the fastest growing primary sector business.

For the full Deloitte Fast 50 index, go to www.fast50.co.nz

About Deloitte in New Zealand

Deloitte New Zealand brings together more than 800 specialist professionals providing audit, tax, consulting, and financial advisory services to public and private clients spanning multiple industries. Our people are based in Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin, serving clients that range from New Zealand’s largest companies and public sector organisations to smaller businesses with ambition to grow.

Deloitte’s local experts draw on best practice and innovative methodologies from around the world as part of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu. With a globally connected network of member firms in more than 150 countries, Deloitte brings world-class capabilities and high-quality service to clients, delivering the insights they need to address their most complex business challenges. Deloitte’s approximately 182,000 professionals are committed to becoming the standard of excellence. For more information about Deloitte in New Zealand, go to our website www.deloitte.co.nz.

About Deloitte
Deloitte refers to one or more of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, a UK private company limited by guarantee, and its network of member firms, each of which is a legally separate and independent entity. Please see www.deloitte.com/nz/about for a detailed description of the legal structure of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu and its member firms.

ENDS

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