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Power takes Fast 50 glory, as Mediacom flies marcomms flag

For the second year in a row, an electricity company has topped the Deloitte Fast 50 list of New Zealand’s fastest-growing companies—though Pulse Utilities NZ‘s 2637 percent revenue growth didn’t quite reach the dizzying heights of last year’s winner, Powershop, which clocked in with 5280 percent growth. And in the marcomms field, Mediacom came in ninth with 487 percent growth, Gopher was 17th with 304 percent growth, SnapComms was 30th with 222 percent growth, recently acquired SublimeNZ was 31st with 216 percent growth and Christchurch’s Plato Design Agency was 35th with 208 percent growth. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDgtD8OelgkThe annual Deloitte Fast 50 index ranks businesses according to their revenue growth over the past three years; to make the charts companies had to achieve growth of 154 percent, while growth of at least 480 percent was required to make the top 10.

With big wins at the TVNZ-NZ Marketing Awards alongside bcg2 for Pfizer and new accounts like BNZ, Revlon and Freedom Furniture on the roster, Mediacom has followed on from last year when it was identified as New Zealand’s fastest growing media agency
by global auditor R3 (it also added to its client list by purchasing the country’s largest indie media agency, media360). 

“We’re obviously stoked with this result,” says managing director Nigel Douglas. “It’s been a great couple of years and we’ve
been cranking it up this year too. We’ve had a successful run of pitches, we’ve
been awarded for some really good work and we’ve got some really high profile campaigns
in market now, with more to come. We want to get on the list again next year.” 

Deloitte partner and national leader of the Fast 50 programme Stephen Nicholas says doing the basics right goes a long way towards achieving business success.

“Things like having a deeply rooted culture of
values and integrity, a strong customer-centric focus and the good sense to
embrace collaboration with the right partners at the right time can help
businesses catapult ahead of the competition.”

 Douglas agrees. “It may seem like a cliché but
we make the rhetoric reality. We start from the inside out with a very strong
emphasis on our people and process. People first, better results.” 

As this year’s overall winner, Pulse Utilities NZ joins a list of Fast 50 alumni that also includes TradeMe, 42 BelowHRV, Energy Mad and New Zealand Honey Co. Fellow electricity retailer PowerKiwi came in at number two with an impressive 1916 percent growth rate, followed by Nelson-based McCashin’s Brewery, makers of a variety of beverages including the Stoke and Rochdale brands, with 1836 percent.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHRHEjbXVTEAlong with being the number one ranked business on the Fast 50, Pulse Utilities NZ also took out the national award for fastest growing retail or consumer products business, while McCashin’s Brewery won the national fastest growing manufacturer award. PowerKiwi, the number two business on this year’s index, was the overall Wellington regional winner.

Nicholas says Pulse Utilities NZ picks up where 2011 winner Powershop left off, challenging the status quo of the electricity industry with its Just Energy brand.
 
“Pulse Utilities has achieved remarkable growth by sticking to the simple formula of providing full service with the best possible local price for its customers.  By focusing on this combination of customer service and a low price in areas of New Zealand that may not seem like a priority for the bigger players in the industry, Pulse has differentiated itself from the pack,” he says. “Both Pulse Utilities, and second place PowerKiwi, clearly demonstrate that there is room for independent retailers to achieve extraordinary growth in the New Zealand electricity industry.”  
 
Other national category awards went to designer jewellery maker Kagi for fastest growing exporter, 2degrees Mobile for fastest growing technology business, Konnect Net for fastest growing services business, CBL Insurance for fastest growing mature business and Wellington-based Global Horticulture New Zealand was the fastest growing primary sector business for the second straight year.

 
Deloitte says the 2012 group of 50 businesses grew the New Zealand economy by $637 million in the past three years and created 1376 jobs. 
 
Three businesses returned to the Fast 50 index for a third time in 2012: FutrixK9 Natural Food and Simply Energy. 
 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VyZFaxXpYYThe winner of the Rising Star prize—given to an innovative company with potential that doesn’t yet qualify for the Fast 50 (they must have more than $300,000 in revenue and records for three years)—was export specialist World Wide Access. Digital marketing agency Young & Shand was a finalist. 
  
For the full list of Fast 50 2012 winners, see fast50.co.nz. 

Top 10

1Pulse Utilities NZ2636.51 %Auckland and Upper North IslandRetail or consumer product
2PowerKiwi1915.64 %Wellington and Lower North IslandRetail or consumer product
3McCashin’s Brewery1836.38 %Christchurch and UpperSouth IslandManufacturing
4Night ‘n Day Foodstores951.71 %Dunedin and Lower South IslandRetail or consumer product
5Konnect Net906.09 %Auckland and Upper North IslandServices
62 degrees Mobile537.92 %Auckland and Upper North IslandTechnology
7Powershop529.39 %Wellington and Lower North IslandRetail or consumer product
8Xero513.5 %Wellington and Lower North IslandTechnology
9Mediacom487.6 %Auckland and Upper North IslandServices
10Ecoya479.63 %Auckland and Upper North IslandRetail or consumer product

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