Over the last 20 years or so, Australia has seen the gradual demise of the corner grocery store and the quick escalation of the likes of 7-Eleven and petrol station convenience outlets.

Throughout the past 10 years, in particular, John has been asked by the major convenience store chains to assist with marketing advice and promotional concepts. The 7-Eleven chain has contracted John’s services a number of times to provide “premium ideas” to stimulate their Slurpee ice drinks, targeted primarily at teenagers. When John was producing the NRL Rugby League trading cards back in the mid-90’s, he provided 7-Eleven with numerous “rugby league themed” trading card concepts, where purchasers of a slurpee would receive a free rugby league gift.

Likewise, he was asked to provide similar promotional concepts to other convenience store chains such as the Caltex Star Shops. Former 7-Eleven and Caltex senior management member, David Parnham, recounts, “John was certainly one of the most entrepreneurial marketing advisors we have used. The benefit of using John’s services as opposed to a traditional advertising agency, were numerous. He always provided a strategic reasoning and rationale behind the concepts he provided. We therefore had a degree of confidence that the idea was based on sound principals, rather than something that was dreamt up at the last moment.”

Indeed, John worked with David Parnham just a few years ago when he was developing a convenience store outlet for the giant Panther’s Entertainment Group at Penrith in New South Wales. John was contracted as an advisor to the Penrith Panthers, with his role being to advise on the design and content of a Panther’s supporters store within the giant licensed club. As David Parnham had left the Caltex Group by this time, John invited his involvement in providing expertise in the combination of a Supporters’ Store and Convenience Outlet for Panthers. Working together, John and David came up with an exciting model for the Panther’s club, which is situated just inside the entrance to the club.

With a high proportion of convenience store sales being “impulse based”, the combination of David and John’s skills were certainly of value to the Panther’s group. The store was called the Panther’s Den and once again, John “wow factored” the concept, arranging the opening of the store to be covered live on national television, via Fatty Vautin’s Channel 9 Footy Show.

The television show crossed live to the Panther’s store and host, Fatty Vautin, officially opened the store and cut the ceremonial ribbon live on air – delivering hundreds of thousands of dollars of free publicity for the store instantaneously!

Yet again, an example of the sort of “wow” which John brings to the table with every project!