Briscoes and Rebel Sport boss Rod Duke on why his store is thriving while other retailers struggle - Money Talks

Rod Duke, Briscoe Group's managing director and largest shareholder. Photo / Dean Purcell

As the economic downturn and online shopping take their toll on local retailers Briscoe Group, headed by Rod Duke, continues to defy the odds with solid sales.

In fact, Duke tells the Money Talks Podcast, it has big expansion plans.

“Look, we’re in the glamorous position that for the last 35 years we’ve saved a lot of money. We haven’t borrowed any money from a bank for 25 years. So we’re cash rich, we’re not indebted,” Duke says.

“We’ve got spectacular staff. We’ve looked after them, all through Covid. Look, make no mistake. It is tough. It’s very, very, very tough in the suburb I’m not going to have a record year in terms of profit, but we’re going to go all right.

Some things are on hold until the economy improves, Duke says.

“But sometimes you spend a lot of money when it’s tough because you know, you’re going to come out of it. I just can’t tell you whether it’s going to be at the end of this year or next year. We’ll come through it. The cycle will turn and the strongest will survive.”

Duke declines to reveal any specifics of his expansion plans but is very clear that he still has growth ambitions.

“It’s not over. We’ve got some big plans coming up. We’re looking to expand the business. We’re looking to acquire or establish a bigger business.”

Briscoe still has a lot of capacity and “a fabulous trading platform”, he says. “I don’t think we’re anywhere near the end of expansion yet.”

Despite having owned and managed the business for nearly 40 years, Duke has no plans to retire.

“I can’t begin to imagine what I would do if I didn’t have the responsibility of a business that I basically gave birth to,” he says.

He enjoys golf and loves travelling and socialising with his wife and friends. He has invested in some racehorses.

But his real passion is still retailing. It has been since he was a teenager.

Duke, who was born in Australia, left school at 16 to work in a shoe shop because he just loved to sell things.

“I was just fascinated by the proposition of buying something and then reselling it for more than I pay for it,” he says.

“I was a very unusual adolescent, not particularly keen on school except for the sporting part of it. For me, it was all about preparing myself for the workforce. I was just dying to get into a shop and learn how to approach and sell to people, how to buy something for an amount of money and then sell it for a little more.”

Duke talks about his first memories of money. His father was a bookmaker at the races in Adelaide and would get a young Duke to count the winnings every Sunday.

He also tells the story of moving to New Zealand, taking over the struggling Briscoes chain and how a $35 million overdraft and fear of bankruptcy drove him to succeed.

Listen to the full episode to hear more from Rod Duke about his successful career in retail, and the differences between Australia and New Zealand retail.

Money Talks is a podcast run by the NZ Herald. It isn’t about personal finance and isn’t about economics - it’s just well-known New Zealanders talking about money and sharing some stories about the impact it’s had on their lives and how it has shaped them.

The series is hosted by Liam Dann, business editor-at-large for the Herald. He is a senior writer and columnist, and also presents and produces videos and podcasts. He joined the Herald in 2003.

Money Talks is available on iHeartRadio, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.