Two routes to success…or failure?
Becoming a gazelle in the midst of the global financial crisis (GFC) is no mean feat,
But the route to success for the two companies we will examine,
New Leaf supermarkets and fresh coat, the growth from zero to around 100 staff in four years at the height of the GFC came by very different means.
Australia, where both companies were situated, was a unique case in terms of GFC response, in that the federal government had a substantial war chest with which to stimulate declining economic growth.
Nevertheless, dun and Bradstreet numbers nevertheless showed a 48% increase in small business failures in 2010-11 and an extraordinary 95% fall in the number of start-ups. However, neither New Leaf nor fresh coat took advantage of federal munificence, and instead trod much more conventional paths to success. But that is where the similarity ends.
New Leaf began as a university project for its founding CEO, who was asked by some friends who were supermarket managers for assistance in responding to an impending takeover of the company that employed them, a takeover that threatened their job security. 
The accidental nature of the company’s birth contrasted with the very deliberate manner in which the principals executed their plan to enter the supermarket industry, gradually buying up cheap or undervalued assets, some in remote rural locations, and adding value to their new outlets with low-cost makeovers and a new service orientation.
We were i suppose hungry to acquire more stores, and put some volume into the business and establish a support office, and get all the resources that we needed, recalled the CEO. Ultimately, this hunger proved costly.