Burnett recruits guru to boost retail billings

Dr Alan Treadgold has joined the network as its Sydney-based director of retail research and consulting to grow a category which Burnett's regional managing director, Richard Pinder, has described as "gold in Asia-Pacific right now".

In his presentation at this month's FoodAsia Conference in Singapore, Treadgold spoke of the enduring attraction that Asia, including China, had for international retail operators. He quoted Professor Richard George of Philadelphia's St Joseph University, who said that retail brands would be the next gold standard.

Treadgold's remit will be to lead a research effort into strategic issues that impact retail and consumer products globally, with a focus on Asia-Pacific, as Burnett looks to double regional retail billings.

"Market by market, we have a retail presence but we want to take an ownership role of retail. To do so you have to offer something tangibly better,

said Pinder. "It's Alan's knowledge and experience that is going to enable Burnett and its clients to continually stay one step ahead of the rest of the pack."

Treadgold was previously director of strategic change at PricewaterhouseCoopers Melbourne. Before that, he was executive director of The Australian Centre for Retail Studies for five years.

Treadgold has worked for Hewlett Packard, Tesco, Indonesia's Matahari department stores, Metro department stores in Singapore and Malaysia and Rustans Philippines. "He brings with him contacts and knowledge which are ahead of what other agencies have got,

said Pinder.

Treadgold will be based in Sydney, where Pinder expects the agency's biggest retail appointments will originate in the future.

However, Treadgold's appointment coincides with the agency's loss of its prized, long-standing Australian retail account, Woolworths, to M&C Saatchi last month.

Pinder said the shift was "not (due to) a quality issue", and added that the loss of the estimated A$75 million (US$40 million) account had opened up new business opportunties in the retail category for Burnett, which handled Woolworths for 16 years.