Students attending the Voices of the Future event  interviewed Zac de Silva, the Managing Director and Co-owner of Barkers:

Biography

• Zac de Silva was born in Sydney, Australia in 1971
• His surname originates from Spain
• Attended Mt Roskill Grammar School and later went on to do a Bachelor of Commerce at Auckland University
• Interestingly, he regularly bought clothes from Barkers in the late 1980s and the early 1990s until Barkers went out of style

Past

Before taking over Barkers, de Silva worked as an accountant in several different firms.

He worked in Deloitte for two years after he finished his studies at university.

Later worked as a corporate accountant at Gulliver’s Pacific (two years) and Flight Centre (nine years).

His time as an accountant made him realise that he was not passionate about working in this field.

Present

Before taking over Barkers with his business partner Chris Greive, who was also his boss at Flight Centre, Zac considered Hell’s Pizza and Simply Squeezed.

Zac chose Barkers in November 2006 because he was passionate about it, citing that “without passion, you won’t get anywhere in life”. His goal was to improve Barkers and make their clothing chain popular again however for the first year and a half, Zac did little but watch how the company was run.

Along with Chris, Zac set three main aims when they started: to dress the All Blacks (accomplished in 2009, taking over Rodd & Gunn’s role); to win the “Best Workplace Award” (Barkers came 3rd in 2008); and to double sales in all shops by 2011, however this goal was put on hold due to the 2008-2009 financial crisis.

With Barkers, Zac managed to raise $100,000 for Prostate Cancer.

Unlike many other clothing outlets in New Zealand, Barkers has not suffered as much from the economic recession. Barkers’ sales increased by 19% in 2008, and by 12% thus far in 2009.

Under Zac’s management, Barkers has won the “ASB Customer Service Award” – reflected by his excellent customer service (for example, in 2008 an employee went to another store to purchase a customer a matching bow-tie for his suit).

Barkers has also won M2 Retailer of the Year Award for three consecutive years (2006-2008)

At present, Barkers has 27 outlets throughout New Zealand.

Barkers’ Philosophy

Zac has built Barkers on a foundation of nine “philosophies”:

• Do the right thing every time
• Half the generation needs motivation
• Know your accountabilities
• Grow yourself and your team
• Everyone counts and makes a difference
• Recognise a job-well-done
• Stand by your decision
• Less is more, keep it simple
• Keep it fun, keep it light, have a life

Track Pants

Zac explained that his aim to bring back the infamous track pants was a “real risk” and that he “had to do it in a cool way”.

He released an advertisement for the revival of the track pants in May 2009 in order to combat the recession, and it has helped his company’s situation.

Our Thoughts

It was a privilege to interview him because we could really relate to what he was talking about. His relaxed, friendly style made the interview much easier for us. We imagine that he will be the “Kiwi Success Story”.

Quotes

I was a total Barker’s boy in the late 80s

My name is quite cool

Happy staff equals happy customers

China is my friend

Don’t diversify too far, stick to your strength