Student: Ethan Hennessey

Student ID: 10038484

Unit: ACCT11081

Assignment Step 3About Dulux Group

Dulux Group is an Australian owned and publicly listed company on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) under the code DLX. Dulux Group has approximately 70 stores throughout Australia, with their head office located in Clayton, VIC, Australia. They also have off shore markets spread across New Zealand, PNG, China and South East Asia. Dulux Group is a larger provider for the building industry, commonly known for its paint products. But they also have vast range of different goods and services, which include; sealants and adhesives, construction products, doors and openers, garden care and cabinets and architectural hardware.

Here are just some of the many brands run by Dulux Group;

( source: http://www.duluxgroup.com.au/our-brands )

Dulux Group has four core values you they like to run their business by, these are;

1. Be consumer driven, customer focused: Walk in the shoes of our consumers and customers Ask, listen, learn and act Help your customers win Use and understand our products Think like tomorrows consumer

2. Unleash your imagination: Challenge the status quo; Imagine ‘what if’ Seek, encourage and support new ideas Fight for good ideas and don’t give up Embrace change and get on board Be brave - make it happen

3. Value people, work safely and respect the environment: Protect yourself and others – work safe, home safe Work as a team, win as a team for Dulux Group Behave with respect and integrity, embrace diversity Lead, recognise, help others succeed Strive to leave our environment better than we found it Participate in our communities

4. Run the business as your own: Know your role, be accountable and deliver Ask, listen, learn and act Plan for tomorrow, act today Build partnerships that add value Be decisive

HistoryBelow is a timeline recording of the many milestones Dulux Group has had since it first began in 1918. (source: http://www.duluxgroup.com.au/about-us/history )

Challenges Dulux Group is FacingDulux Group’s biggest challenges it faces are consumer safety, product misuse, post-consumer waste, raw materials impacts, packaging and labeling and distribution. During 2017 Dulux Group identified two opportunities to continue their journey forward through the ever-changing laws and regulations by adding customer and consumer insights into their stewardship assessment and planning tool and implementing a life cycle assessment tool. You can check out more information about their challenges and how they plan to approach them through the link below.

(https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=2ahUKEwjsp9j54erjAhVX8XMBHe45BT4QFjAAegQIBBAC&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.duluxgroup.com.au%2Freports%2Fduluxgroup-2018-corporate-sustainability-report&usg=AOvVaw1DCvUTk72aZJBYzN_sv0en )

Also, I have provided a safety data sheet link about the correct use of the product and what to do in the event of a spillage or physical contact. (http://www.duluxgroup.com.au/about-us/sustainability/duluxgroup-safety-data-sheets )

Opportunities and Milestones Dulux Group Has FacedIn 2018 Dulux Group’s $165m paint factory had been successfully commissioned and fully operational and meeting the expected production targets. They have been voted in the most trusted paint brand and also another brand under Dulux Group, Yates, was voted most trusted garden care brand. Although there has been an increase in injuries throughout their global workforce of 4000 people, there has been a significant drop in serious injuries by 18% which is at an all time low. Yates has also acquired an organic crop protectant that has recently extended their position in the horticultural, nutritional and plant protection markets. Over in United Kingdom another brand under Dulux Group, Craig & Rose Paints, have opened its first two stand-alone stores as well as relaunching its online store.

Dulux had designed a new anti-graffiti paint cover to prevent graffiti ruining painted surfaces, which can be washed off with high pressure water and ultimately reduce the amount of chemical exposure to the customer and environment. In December 2017 Dulux joined local aritists and residents in western Sydney to partake in a hand painted mural to rejuvenate the Kings Langley Baseball Club.

You can find more information on their recent opportunities and milestones in the 2018 annual report via the link below. (http://www.duluxgroup.com.au/investor-centre/results-reports )

Research and DevelopmentDulux is one of Australia’s largest employers of industrial chemist, employing more than 130 scientists and technologists across its businesses. They also have a three-year graduate program for graduate scientists and have 18 graduates currently employed in the program.

Industry minister Greg Hunt praised Dulux Group for their efforts towards research and development. He says the proposed changes to the R&D tax rules in 2016 will wipe out Dulux Groups tax credits. Dulux chief scientist Chris Such told the science meets business conference 2016 that the proposal to set and R&D intensity threshold of 1-2 per cent of total business expenses “would drive our tax offsets to zero”. Dulux group would not exceed the even the lowest threshold if the new research and development tax rules is passed because they are such a big manufacturer that their research expenditure would not exceed even 1 percent of the business’s total expenses.

Conversations with Peers

Student: Savannah Lee Bayntum

The company Savannah was given is called, ‘Emeco Holdings’. Emeco is a completely different company to dulux, as they deal with renting out heavy mining equipment and Dulux is primarily a paint manufacturer. The customer/client base our firms work towards are on very different ends of the spectrum, as Emeco would be dealing with possibly multibillion-dollar mining giants, and Dulux group would have their focus on smaller clients such as Bunnings. Not only do our firm’s customers differ from each other but so do the market impacts as well. I had a glance through Emeco’s financial statements and seen that they had been running at a loss for the past 6 years and suddenly in 2018 they jumped up to make a profit of $8,272,000. I couldn’t help but wonder if maybe this was the outcome of positive turn around in the mining industry. I have been in the heavy industry for the past 8 years and have noticed since early last year that the industry has began to pick up with plans of building numerous new mines. Dulux hasn’t had the same effect, they seem to have a steady trend in their profit each year.

What me and Savannah both noticed was that our firms’ financial statements were very different. Savannah said that mine look a lot fancier than what hers do, all I could think was how confusing mine looked. I found Emeco’s statements were a lot easier to find and to understand as oppose to Dulux. Why is it that one company’s financial statements are easier to read than the others if they are still portraying the same information?

The final question I asked Savannah was how does she find her new company compared to her last? She replied saying that she enjoys her new company more as she is now dealing with Australian currency and not Yen. I have been lucky so far with the companies I have been given as they have been Australian companies. I to would find it difficult to translate the currencies to get an idea of how much they are actually dealing with in a currency I am fond of.

Student: Anuj Shukla

The company Anuj was given is called, ‘GR Engineering’. It is an engineering company in Australia with multiple projects across a vast number of sites. GR Engineering provides a workforce to complete quoted jobs for clients in the mining and construction industry. Anuj and I both agreed that our companies were completely different in terms of their growth trends in the company, clients/customers and outside factors that may affect them. Anuj could see that in previous years his firm’s revenue has gone up a considerable amount and his profits have taken a plunge due to bad debts. We both believe that this may be from a client not paying them as the heading for the debt in the financial statements is

called ‘Uncollectable amount’. GR Engineering’s client base is considerably different as they deal with large scale mining companies. Also, the outside factors are different as well such as, industry booms etc.

Anuj said that he was satisfied with the company he has been assigned with. He is enjoying the exploration of the sectors within his new company because he is learning not just about his company but also about competing companies as well. His last company was a network and broadcasting company so very much different to work with. Anuj noticed that the growth trends of both his new and past company are very similar.

My final question I asked Anuj was if he found this unit’s company easier to understand as oppose to the last unit? He believed that it was more or less the same with comprehending the technical terms within the industry. But after he finished ACCT11059 his interpretation of the performance of his company because of the assignments he completed within the unit.