Highlander is an established and successful business. However, winning an important London 2012 contract highlighted to Highlander that its growth ambitions required a close review of their internal structure and operations.
We provided Highlander with the targeted support they needed to achieve their international expansion goals.
The company
Highlander is at the forefront of the supply of outdoor equipment and clothes in the UK. Established in 1985, Highlander remains a family business.
Having previously manufactured most products in the UK, factories in China currently supply demand. In addition to supplying a large range of stock equipment and clothing, Highlander also provides bespoke products runs where viability exists.
Military equipment and clothing forms part of Highlander's range, supplied to both various governments around the world, and purchased privately by troops posted to Iraq and Afghanistan.
Winning a license for official London 2012 products was a key success for Highlander, resulting in the design of a wide range of backpacks, wallets and other travel accessories carrying the London 2012 logo.
In addition to their significant UK market share, and an active export market to several European and Middle Eastern countries, Highlander continues to seek new breakthrough international markets.
The challenge
Highlander was looking to expand and accelerate growth of the company following a buy-out of the business. They were in a strong position to grow in a market that was generally contracting due to the decline in independent retailers.
Winning the London 2012 licence was a key success; however, for optimum contract delivery, the company needed some reshaping. At the same time, large multiples such as Tesco and Sainsbury began to present a challenge to smaller independent retailers.
Highlander needed help to break into new markets and expand their footprint in Germany and other European markets.
Simon Clegg, Scottish Enterprise Account Manager began working with the team at Highlander to provide the support to reshape their business and enable them to take full advantage of these opportunities.
How we helped
Simon Clegg worked closely with Highlander to provide a range of support mechanisms. Simon helped the Highlander team to analyse the business and understand the company's priorities. For example, utilising a workshop format, he introduced them to a new way to develop their growth strategy.
As Ramin Golzari, sales director of Highlander notes “Working with Simon was great as he encouraged us to get away from our day to day routine and job roles; to think about the big picture, the future of the business and how we wanted it to develop. He challenged our thought processes, making us look at challenges and obstacles in new and innovative ways.”
The shift from being a business dealing with independent retailers to one working with national retailers required substantial change within the business. Simon worked closely with the management team in Highlander to help facilitate that change.
Following the success in winning the London 2012 licence, we supported the delivery of an oprganisational development workshop with an external consultant.
While the contract win presented an exciting opportunity for Highlander, it was also a risk since it required accelerated growth and new approaches.
The workshop helped Highlander analyse the growth requirements resulting from the win; consider the requirements it brought and what needed to change to facilitate successful contract delivery.
This led to further work as part of the Leadership for Growth Programme. Management and leadership coaching was provided to one of the company directors. This was followed up by a project involving another external consultant who facilitated analysis of all job roles, considering staffing requirements, understanding existing skill sets, and development areas of current staff, allowed Highlander to take stock and identify where new staff requirements lay.
This substantial project led to all staff having clearly defined roles with job descriptions and key performance indicators. Introduction of processes to provide training, performance appraisal reviews provided the clarity required to help manage the process of change within the company.
Funding support allowed Highlander to bring in two interim managers. The first helped introduce a new financial structure to the company, aligning its structure to work with large national clients.
The Finance Manager tackled minimising waste, maximising efficiency and stripping out complacent financial practices within the business.
The second manager fulfilled a business development role, helping Highlander break into international markets as well as supporting the move from independent to national retailers.
This new skill set enabled the company to move from an agent structure to a more successful distribution structure.
We also helped provide Information and Communication Technology specialism and website development support. This is leading to the re-development of Highlander’s website.
Online processing of orders will consequently make Highlander's sales processes more efficient.
Help to explore international markets
Highlander also engaged with Scottish Development International (SDI) to help make the most of international opportunities. SDI support included provision of market research and provision of contacts and introductions to help set up meetings in Russia and China.
The impact
Highlander is delighted with the support we provided to them. They have re-structured their business internally, increased their market share and are now winning ancillary business following the success of the London 2012 project.
As Ramin Golzari comments, “As a small business we would have to think hard about investing in the Finance Manager and International Manager roles. But both roles have added huge value to our business - contributing to double digit growth month on month, at the same time as our competitors’ businesses are declining.”
Simon Clegg adds, “The team at Highlander has engaged positively with the support we’ve been able to offer. Their passion for what they do is evident and they’ve embraced the opportunity to question old ways of doing things; bring new talent into the company; and really develop the considerable talent that was already in Highlander.”
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