EGLO Australia is a subsidiary of an Austrian-based firm that designs, manufactures, and sells lighting and fan products around the world. The Australian operations – based in Adelaide – were originally relatively small, but since Troy Bigg took the helm as Managing Director seven years ago and shifted operations to Brisbane, the company has seen significant growth.
Over the past five years, topline revenue at the company has increased 40% on average, with expected current year growth around 20%. The business has also seen a significant number of key clients won in this period, as well as expansion of the product range and an increase in EGLO team members across all functions, including sales, admin/finance and warehouse.
Troy says that he initially decided to step into managing the Australian arm of the business because he believed that EGLO Australia could be a great success story.
“EGLO is a family enterprise with Austrian roots that thrives on community and trust,” he says. “I had a passion to bring people together and work towards a common goal, while providing products that could help bring this sense of community into customers’ homes.”
The journey has not been without challenges, however, and certain perceptions had to be overcome.
Troy explains, “Coming from a country with a small population, compared to the rest of the world, we were viewed as a small player on the world stage of lighting. Just getting people to do things for us when they thought their time might be better spent working on projects for bigger countries was an initial hurdle for us.”
Building a great business
Troy says that to him, a great business is one that has a supportive team environment, takes care of its customers through honesty and transparency, and encourages innovation at every level.
“Our team is the true reason for our success,” he says. “Having a great team of people pushing in the same direction – and never giving up – makes all the difference. We try to be easy to work with and make things simple for our customers.”
Audit Director Luke Bollmeyer says, “In my opinion, EGLO is a great business because it’s grown into a large operation on the back of an experienced Managing Director who has executed successful strategies. This has resulted in EGLO becoming a major supplier in the lighting and fan markets in Australia.”
Accru Harris Orchard’s role and involvement
EGLO Lighting Australia has been a client of Accru Harris Orchard’s since 2015 and has primarily worked with the Auditing team, but the Business Services team have also assisted EGLO in a range of areas including taxation changes, ASIC changes and business process improvements.
Luke notes, “Accru Harris Orchard has assisted with EGLO’s financial reporting requirements as the company has grown, providing practical advice on international tax matters and assisting with restructuring of debt and equity. Most importantly, though, we’ve been a business partner to the EGLO management team here locally and to their Head Office in Austria.”
Troy says, “Luke and the rest of the team at Accru Harris Orchard have always been there to support me from the first day I took over the business seven years ago. Luke is our auditor and always provides insight on improvements, even if just tiny changes.” He adds, “The whole team is very approachable, and they always direct us to the correct person in the firm who can answer our questions. They’re very ethical and so are we, and this is where we align and work well together.”
Future of the business
Troy says that over the next few years, the company intends to continue growing and release some new product categories, as well as work towards reducing their environmental impact.
“We’ve slowly been introducing more sustainable packaging, which we’ve received some great responses about, and we’ll look towards doing this with other product ranges, such as our fans,” says Troy.
To learn more about EGLO, visit www.eglo.com/en/about-eglo.
Want to learn more about how Accru Harris Orchard can help you build a great business? Contact our team today.
