Choices Flooring Australasian Conference 2024: Engage, Evolve, Excel
What an electrifying few days it was at the Melbourne Convention Centre!
With over 450 delegates gracing our event, the Choices Flooring Australasian Conference was a powerhouse of inspiration and collaboration. From you – our dedicated member retailers – to the brilliant insights shared by our keynote speakers like Bernard Salt, Marc Phillips, Andrew Gaze, Janine Allis, & Sir Peter Cosgrove, every moment was infused with the spirit of innovation and growth. And let’s not forget the invaluable support from our esteemed 31 Alliance Partners whose contributions helped make this gathering truly exceptional.
The opening address by our CEO Andrew Lewis inspired all delegates and was a great way to start the Australasian Conference. Andrew’s address focused on the Choices Flooring strategy and the Hybrid Retail Model and that it isn’t just about enhancing the in-store experience; it is about extending the Choices Flooring brand far beyond its physical footprint via the use of robust omnichannel strategies. His message to you is to seamlessly bridge the gap between their brick-and-mortar locations and digital platforms, creating a cohesive ecosystem where customers can seamlessly transition between online browsing and offline engagement.
The future of Artificial Intelligence in Retail presentation delivered by Marc Phillips of Search Forecast and myself had many of you questioning what is to come in terms of technology. The rate in which AI will shape our world in the next decade will have a profound impact in the way we do business.
Then there was our Alliance Partner hall. Which was the largest ever – covering over 2,600sqm of space – showcasing over 31 partners of the Choices Flooring family displaying their products with pride, with all going above and beyond to ensure you know you get the best from the best.
Many members have requested a copy of the opening cube throwing video and I’m pleased to attach a link to this within this edition.
To cap it off, we presented our Australasian GEMS Awards for 2023. The State winners presented at the regionals earlier in February, acted as nominees for the Australasian awards. The winners for each category were as follows:
- Dollar Growth in Total Sales Metro Members 2023 – Choices Flooring Caringbah
- Dollar Growth in Total Sales Country Members 2023 – Choices Flooring Coffs Harbour
- Percentage Growth in Total Sales Metro Members 2023- Choices Flooring Caringbah
- Percentage Growth in Total Sales Country Members 2023- Choices Flooring Coffs Harbour
- Jack Swinton Award 2023 – Choices Flooring Coffs Harbour
During the breaks in the Alliance Partner Hall, you would have noticed the Chillingworth Training Institute (CTI) held a State v State Installation competition. The competition pitted the best Second to Third year apprentices selected from each State by the CTI Trainers to compete for the coveted Martin Lambert Australasian Apprentice Of The Year.
The State winners were Daniel Clayton (Choices Flooring Burnie – TAS ), Leory van den Dool (Choices Flooring Abany Interiors- WA ), Clair Crawley (Choices Flooring Ballarat- VIC ), Brendan Lynch (Choices Flooring Atherton – QLD) and Jesse Harfield (Choices Flooring Goulburn- NSW).
These outstanding apprentices had to complete two installations throughout the course of a day. The first being a Temuka Heavy Wool Loop carpet and the other an Armstrong Commercial Sheet Vinyl. All delegates got the opportunity to witness from afar their handywork, whilst the judging panel of CTI trainers looked closely to rate their craft.
At the Choices Flooring General Excellence in Sales and Marketing (GEMS) Gala Dinner, Brendan Lynch of Choices Flooring Atherton (QLD) was crowned the winner and took away the $2,500 prize and the coveted Martin Lambert Apprentice of the year award.
We also awarded two prestigious awards – Legend of Industry and Hall of Fame.
The first Legend of Industry was awarded to William (Bill) Tree. Bill has been a pioneer in teaching flooring apprentices for many years with devotion to the craft far exceeding expectation. At Newfurn, we are honoured to have him as one our trainers through the Chillingworth Training Institute (CTI) teaching and guiding the installers of today and tomorrow.
It’s rare at Choices Flooring that we induct a Hall of Fame recipient. Only three individuals have been bestowed the honour of being in the Choices Flooring Hall of Fame – Jack Swinton, Martin Lambert and Bill Aggenbach.
Yet, in 2024 we inducted Shane Chillingworth as our fourth inductee, recognising outstanding service to our network over many decades. Shane, who until recently the owner of Choices Flooring Tamworth, has served the membership with professionalism and dedication, putting personal interests aside whilst guiding and assisting the members of the Choices Flooring family, as well as the Style Flooring members. It is with his support of the group that in recent years that our training institute was named in his honour – Chillingworth Training Institute.
