Aboriginal MOS eyes multimillion turnover
August 9, 2018
(l-r) Mitchell Ross and Dominique Lyone (Credit: NIT)
Muru Office Supplies (MOS), an Indigenous-owned office supply company in Australia, is aiming for a turnover of AU$20 million ($14.8 million/€12.8 million) by 2020.
According to CEO Mitchell Ross, the stationery and other office products company tripled its turnover in the last financial year, and has “big plans for the future,” National Indigenous Times reports.
“We did AU$5 million ($3.7 million/€3.2 million) in turnover last financial year because of the contracts with KPMG and Boral,” Ross explained. “The previous financial year was AU$1.7 million ($1.2 million/€1.08 million), so we’ve tripled our revenue in the last 12 months.”
He added that he was setting his sights high for the future: “I’ve got a bit of an outrageous goal to have AU$20 million ($14.8 million/€12.8 million) in revenue by 2020. Next year we want to continue growth and continue that trend and obviously work towards that.”
The company itself was formed in 2015 as a joint venture between Muru Group and national office products company Complete Office Supplies, in order to provide Muru Group’s customers with “a wider range of products.”
“They’ve got national distribution and credibility in the industry so that removed some of the barriers I faced prior to the partnership,” Ross elaborated, “barriers some of my peers still face, with the misconception that Aboriginal business doesn’t have the capability to service them.”
Both companies put a large focus on supporting the community, with MOS giving 15 percent of its profits to Aboriginal community projects, and COS giving the same percentage to other charities.
Ross opined that “there are a lot of synergies between the two companies; COS is a family-owned company and their founder, Dominique Lyone, emigrated to Australia when he was very young from Egypt. Dom was supported by Australian charities and he is a very strong believer in supporting Australian charities.”
Lyone himself was hopeful that MOS could make a place for itself in the busy office supply market.
“I’m enjoying understanding more about the Indigenous sector and giving the next lot of people coming through a go at business,” he said. “Part of my job is also to mentor Mitchell, the CEO. I’m enjoying that role and working with him and his team.”
MOS offers a wide range of products, including printer cartridges, post-it notes, and furniture, as well as a range of over 60 products featuring Indigenous artwork by Indigenous artist Marcus Lee Designs.
Categories : Around the Industry
Tags : Aborigine Australia Complete Office Supplies Financials Muru Office Supplies
