Retail Food Group CEO Matt Marshall took on the “most challenging role in retail” when he returned to the multi-brand franchisor as head of growth – retail, in 2020. Now he’s driving the business.
In a podcast conversation with Franchise Executives/Franchise Business editor Sarah Stowe, Marshall discussed his career path, the appeal of challenger brands, his toughest challenges, and how he wants to make a difference at Retail Food Group (RFG).
SS: You have senior leadership experience in retail brands, category sales and strategic planning. What is it you look for in a role and in a business?
MM: I found I loved the fast-paced branded environments where you could see something tangible. And I liked being able to influence a business outcome that you can see and build at scale.
The appeal of challenger brands
SS: You’ve worked for some big brands, Schweppes and the Sanofi stable of healthcare products, which includes Nature’s Own. What were the big challenges?
MM: I started in the Cadbury business, which was a really big brand. Once I moved into brands that were more challenger brands I found myself enjoying non-market leader brands more than the really big brands. Because those challenges were really all about the quality of the work and the quality of execution.
Sometimes I think when you’ve got big brands, big trusted brands, you can get sort of absorbed in a bit of the laziness of just relying on how good that brand is. And so I enjoy the challenge of finding new ways to go after market leaders and find little insights that unlock opportunity.
Typically that challenge was around building the right team and the capability and the empowerment for people to really have a go and make a difference. So that was always, I think, the common challenge, no matter what the brand was, but it was also the most enjoyable part of the job.
Returning to RFG in a challenging role
SS: You spent just nine months as managing director at the retail food group brand Brumby’s back in 2015 to 16. Why did you leave and what persuaded you then to come back to the retail food group five years ago?
MM: I joined the Brumby’s business and found that there was this huge opportunity, in the same way I was talking about these challenger brands and businesses where there was opportunity around brand evolution, really getting to know the customer, working with franchise partners and unlocking this opportunity.
Unfortunately, I didn’t last long. I was there in nine months. I didn’t plan on leaving, but I felt at the time that it wasn’t the right business for me. And I look back on it and there were some wonderful people and some great brands, but I didn’t feel like I could make a difference just in the way the business was set up at the time.
But I came back after Peter George, who’s our chairman now, tapped me on the shoulder and had a coffee with me and spoke to me about the opportunity to come back.
I really wasn’t interested, if I’m honest, I didn’t think it was the right business for me. And as I spoke to him and found out what he was doing around reshaping the board, reshaping the business and really putting the customer and the franchise partner back at the heart of what would unlock a new pathway for Retail Food Group who, you by the way, obviously we went through all their drama and it was a really tough time.
It just sparked a little bit of interest in me to think you know the reasons I left maybe aren’t there anymore so what a great opportunity to go back and take on something that I considered potentially the most challenging retail job in the country for many reasons. At the time that wasn’t this job but you know one thing’s led to another and I’ve been back there five years so it’s been a really good choice.
The toughest challenge
SS: Bringing about significant change in a multi-brand business is a huge undertaking. What has been the toughest challenge?
MM: I’d seen what franchises faced and then they went through all the troubles very publicly, which made their jobs really hard, to maintain equity in their business and a value in their business, let alone the motivation of getting up every day and serving customers.
And we’ve started to really try and put ourselves in front of them, listen to them. But when I look at franchising in general, a franchisee in my mind buys into something because the franchisor brings a level of IP in the brand. They bring expertise, they bring opportunities for growth. But at the end of the day, it’s their [franchisees’] business. And so the best franchisees follow the systems to the letter because scale and consistency are the friends in franchising.
Once you go through some of the challenges like we did, that fragmentation of a model or letting those standards slip becomes the start of the bigger problems because then you get into a situation where every franchisee thinks the way they’re doing it is the way it should be done. And if you lose control of some of that, that’s a very difficult thing to bring back.
I think the only way to do that is to do it with a very clear customer insight in mind and start to tap into what’s going to deliver new customers and new growth. And that’s been the roadmap we’ve followed to get back into growth. And I think that’s what establishes trust and rebuilds belief and is able to kind of get people back on board.
But when brands have been around a long time and people have been through a lot, that is a really, really difficult thing to overcome. So I think we’re through the worst of that and we’re starting to bring some really exciting initiatives to life.
But that has probably been the toughest challenge so far.
Retail Food Group into the future
SS: What would you like your legacy to be at RFG?
MM: I think the legacy for me is going to be a team that feels like, you know, top to bottom in our business. They understand their role and understand the purpose of our business. They know what we’re trying to do to support franchisees and they understand the customer that we’re trying to get to, to build growth. And I think that environment that we work in, I think shifted a long way since, you know, pre-Covid inside Retail Food Group.
And I think that the issues are now behind us and the scars of that have run pretty deep to be honest with you and we’ve still got reputational challenges out there. People think we are one thing and we’re not. And when you bring new people into the business, we’re starting to see this sort of pleasantly surprised that they took the leap of faith and maybe what they heard out there isn’t what they’re seeing inside our business and we’ve got some great people.
So I think for the people that have been there a long time, I’d like this period of me being in this role to be one sort of milestone where people go, we really transformed how important people are, both our people and how franchise partners are to our business. And when they look back, they think, geez, I’m glad I hung around and I was part of this journey into growth.
For new people coming in, they don’t know any of that and they just see this as a great business to join and they’re happy they did. I think if my legacy can be successful franchisees off the back of that environment, I’d be really happy.”
This is an edited extract of a Spill the Biz podcast; listen to hear more about how Matt Marshall is implementing change, embracing retail challenges, and driving RFG into the future.
