QBD Books Awarded one of Australia’s Best Managed Companies by Deloitte Private

We are ecstatic to share with our QBD Books community that on Thursday the 21st of March, we were announced as one of Australia’s Best Managed Companies for 2023.

This prestigious award has been sponsored by Deloitte Private as a part of Australia’s Best Managed Companies program that has been operational since 1993.

Keep reading to find out more about this esteemed award, our CEO, Nick Croydon discussing the effective initiatives QBD Books has taken as a retail business, and the exciting partnerships we have recently formed.

QBD Books named one of Australia’s Best Managed Companies

The country’s largest Australian-owned and operated book retailer, QBD Books, has been announced as one of Australia’s Best Managed Companies for 2023, at a ceremony in Sydney on Thursday 21 March.

Sponsored by Deloitte Private, the Australia’s Best Managed Companies program recognises privately held companies for their organisational success and achievement, allowing them to benchmark against some of the best private companies in the world.

Established in Canada in 1993, the Best Managed Companies program has become the most significant business award of its kind, with the program running in 48 countries across the Americas, Europe, Australasia, and Africa.

The program is built around four pillars – Strategy, Capabilities and Innovation, Culture and Commitment, and Governance and Financials – and in each area, applicant companies are carefully evaluated by a panel of independent judges.

The company now joins an exclusive group of past Australian winners of the award, including King Living, ADCO, and Infotrack.

According to QBD Books CEO Nick Croydon, the award is a fitting recognition of the growth of QBD as a company.

“When we bought QBD in October 2016, the company had a network of 55 stores, and I’m proud to say that in the last eight years we’ve been able to grow that figure to 88 stores, as we continue on our mission to reach 100 stores,” explained Mr Croydon.

“Our industry is worth around $1.7B and supports over 10,000 jobs, but at the same time, there’s no question that traditional bricks and mortar bookstores are facing challenges, with nearly half of all stores closing in the last ten years.

“That’s why it’s so humbling and validating to receive this award from Deloitte, amongst such impressive fellow nominees, as it shows we’re on the right trajectory and people are taking notice.”

Having been an integral part of QBD Books’ journey, Mr Croydon highlights that he is honoured to be accepting the award on behalf of their support office and retail teams at stores across Australia.

Looking to the future, Mr Croydon says diversification and new technology has become an increasingly important factor for businesses such as QBD to remain relevant in today’s world.

“QBD Books has a long and proud history of integrating with technology. From our earliest days, we have invested heavily in custom development resources and it has led to positive results with increased engagement and improved efficiency”, says Mr Croydon.

In the last few years, QBD has launched partnerships with Australian Geographic and Sony Music, to stock their products in QBD stores, as well as investing in new technology and AI to expand its customer base.

“It is increasingly hard to ignore the growing trend towards AI now, especially in our industry. So, we are approaching AI with cautious optimism, and have identified several potential areas where we may look to integrate some form of AI.

“AI could potentially be used to compute data driven personalised recommendations for better customer interactions, to conduct market trend analysis, and to replenish inventory more efficiently, among several other ways to improve and personalise our services.”

Mr Croydon also flagged further investment in QBD bookstores nationally, with further openings planned across Australia throughout 2024, in addition to the expansion and refurbishment of stores across its network.