IS

IS is a wholesaler of homewares, gifts and specialty toys throughout Australia and New Zealand. Our head office is located in Brookvale, on the Northern Beaches of Sydney. Our sales and office team is made up of 25 full time employees and we outsource our warehousing.

A Brief History of the Company
Independence Studios was established in 1987 by founder James Smail. From very humble beginnings the company has grown into a multi-million dollar business, and is now the market leader in homewares, gifts, specialty games and toys in both Australia and New Zealand. James is still a majority share holder and leads an active role as Managing Director and Chief Buyer Ian Hardy has been with the company for thirteen years. He is the sales manager and is also a part owner.

Sales Marketing and Customer Base
IS?s combined market is made up of approximately 24 million people, 20 million in Australia and 4 million in New Zealand. The population of Australia is spread over 7,692,030 km2. This is over 32 times larger than the United Kingdom.
The majority of our business derives from capital cities which we have broken up into sales territories. To give you an idea of the population breakdown, listed below is a percentage breakdown of the Australian capital city populous:

- Sydney 35% - Melbourne 29% - Brisbane 13% - Perth 11% - Adelaide 9% - Canberra 3%

85% of the country's population occupies only 1% of the land. This means that we have full time representatives of the company that look after each of the major territories, with an internal sales team to work in conjunction with our field representatives.

Distribution
Logistics is a major consideration for us and we have chosen to outsource all our warehouse and distribution, to allow us to concentrate on doing what we do best: achieve continued success in the sales and marketing fields. The vast majority of items we buy direct are from China and we have containers arriving almost daily. We work on a 30% deposit with the majority of our suppliers, with the Purchase Order and the balance when the goods are ready to ship.

Sales Team Breakdown
IS is made up of six full time representatives working exclusively for us; two based in Sydney, two based in Melbourne, one in Brisbane and one in New Zealand. Our Sydney field representatives also look after Adelaide and Perth. In addition to this we have six internal sales representatives that work in conjunction with the field reps, helping them look after their respective states and servicing rural areas. We also have one public relations coordinator on board to manage our growing media presence. Over the past few years we have had an increased sales growth in excess of 15% annually. This is due to the aggressiveness we put into marketing and public relations and the reputation that we have in the industry. After 21 years we are well known and trusted.

Client Breakdown
Between Australia and New Zealand we have over 5000 customers which are broken down into five key areas as follows:
? Gift Stores 22%
? Toy Stores 15%
? Department Stores 20%
? Newsagents and Pharmacies 13%
? Homewares Stores 20%
? Museums/Science Centres 5%
? Book Stores 4%

It's our aim to be the Number 1 seller of Gifts and Furnishings on the Planet. So call or email us to see how we can work together.