👉 Background: Godfreys is the longstanding Aussie vacuum cleaner company with that top notch slogan ‘cleanliness is next to Godfreyness’. This crew started in 1931 and expanded to more than 200 outlets across the country.

👉 What happened: It's changed owners quite a few times over the last 15 years:

• 2006: Original owners sold it to to private equity for $300m
• 2011: Original owners bought it back for $100m alongside an investment bank
• 2014: Godfreys was listed on the ASX
• 2018: One of the original owners bought it back again at age 100

Now, it looks like the new/old owners have whipped Godfreys back into shape! It made $176 million bucks of revenue this year, which is just a liiiiiittle bit more than last year.

👉 What else: And although tougher times may be to come... Godfrey’s is confident that the vacuum ain't so discretionary.

What's the key learning?

💡Not all discretionary spending items are born equal. It’s pretty clear that discretionary spending like cafes and retail has started to decline, but the humble vacuum cleaner category may just be partially immune.

💡Because having a clean home is pretty pretty crucial. The vacuum cleaner market sounds pretty niche, but it's actually worth more than $1.3 billion each year in Australia.

💡That's why competition is fierce, with players like Harvey Norman, JB Hi-Fi, Kogan.com and Amazon. So Godfrey’s and its in-store demonstrations should expect some hard work ahead.