Knight Moves
There's an old saying that if you like something enough then you should think about buying it.
In Debra Knight’s case, it wasn’t a mere bauble or small item that was on her wish list. Three years ago, she tried Crivelli coffee for the first time and liked it so much that she bought the company.
With an impressive background in business and finance, Debra’s acquisition wasn’t a whimsical leap into the unknown and she knows her way around a management suite and boardroom. But, seasoning that is her personal passion for the Crivelli Fine Coffee products.
Debra’s credentials include membership of the Financial Services Institute of Australasia (Finsia), a BA (Hons) from Melbourne University, an MBA (Deans List) from Columbia and an Advanced Professional Certificate in Business Law and Taxation from New York University. She also recently completed a Graduate Diploma in Financial Planning from Finsia and advises a small number of private clients on wealth management.
She has sat on a number of Government boards, including Gippsland Water and the Victorian Forestry Advisory Board. Debra is on the Council of Melbourne Grammar School, is a member of the School’s Finance and Planning Committee, is Chair of the Monash Gallery of Art and has sat on the Victorian Women’s Trust for a number of years.
But, for this woman who knows more than most about balance sheets and bottom lines, get her onto the subject of coffee and she oozes passion. This business is a dream come true and allows her to spend her working hours focused on that passion.
“And, coffee is all about emotion – especially in a coffee-mad city like Melbourne - and I like to think I combine a very business-like and practical approach with a passion for quality and excellence,” Debra says.
“We have won more medals than all of our competitors – combined!! So this is an exciting time for Crivelli and we’re going for it.”
The highly competitive nature of this sector doesn’t phase her either. A climb up the corporate ladder in the finance arena isn’t for the fainthearted either. The Crivelli move evolved from Debra’s desire to control of her own professional destiny. To this end, she started searching for a business to buy. “I was introduced to Crivelli Coffee via a third party and didn’t really know much about it at the time. But one taste and I was hooked! I was knocked over by the quality of the product and stunned that the most awarded coffee in Australia was virtually unknown.”
Debra seized the opportunity to build on the Crivelli brand with an end goal of ensuring that the name stands equal to the product.
“We have won more medals than all of our competitors – combined!! So this is an exciting time for Crivelli and we’re going for it.”
The plan is to build Crivelli Fine Coffee’s position and reputation in the marketplace and give it the recognition that Debra feels is long overdue. However, while it is all about the coffee, in this demanding market, a successful company must have every part of its operation working at optimum level to deliver the best result for the customer.
As one of the country’s most awarded coffee brands and family names, Debra faces the challenge of trying to move ahead, while staying true to the quality of an exceptional product.
“We’ve taken the time to think about the brand and what it offers to our customers. This has translated into overhauling our packaging, marketing, brand image, delivery systems, everything,” she says.
The focus is on getting the back-of-house setup in order, including offering a high level of customer service, whether it be on-the-road sales, machinery service, order delivery or accounting processes. The overall culture of the business is now driven by four pillars: product quality, sales, service and equipment.
“One thing that has never been in doubt is the quality of the Crivelli product and my vision for it is one of longevity and strong brand equity. We are working to a ten year plan – to rebuild relationships and establish new ones, continue to deliver on quality and service and be recognised as one of the best suppliers in the business.”
As happens with any new ownership of a business, they’ve had their share of reshuffling staff.
“It’s all about falling in love and what’s not to love about coffee?” Debra says.
“The committed staff who share my vision for Crivelli are right here beside me at every step. We have reorganised the team and I have a very solid bedrock of key senior executives who oversee different parts of the business with me. I feel incredibly well-supported by this enthusiastic, unified team; we’re all in it for the long haul and are on this journey together.
“It’s all about falling in love and what’s not to love about coffee?”
“ What’s been particularly exciting is recognising a product with so much potential, working through the issues that I inherited and creating a clear, long- term strategy for the future. We live in one of the most sophisticated cities in the world when it comes to coffee and understanding how the industry works, what drives it and how to survive and thrive is both challenging and exciting. The fact that we now have customers approaching us makes me think we’re on the right track. We’re finding our natural place in the coffee order.”
Debra says she can see the future for Crivelli Fine Coffee and “it is hard not to try to build the empire in a day!” “Juggling the desire to take Crivelli to where it deserves to be, while ensuring that all of the planning and thinking and building blocks are in place has been challenging. We have been in a transition phase, moving into a building phase and I’ve needed to moderate the pace of that change to ensure that the right people and processes are in place. We’ve done that and we’re now in great shape to stake our claim on the market. After all is said and done, it’s all about the coffee!”
