The Retail Score
The Retail Score is a data analytics business that provides solutions for the retail and wholesale sectors.
Need
To expand its operations into the US market, The Retail Score required finance to facilitate its growth ambitions.
Solution
We provided an overseas direct investment loan that enabled The Retail Score to enter the US market earlier and more quickly.
In today’s data-driven economy, analytics tools have become a crucial component of retail and wholesale business operations. These systems turn thousands of individual facts and figures into usable insights, enabling business owners to make informed decisions based on accurate and timely information.
The Retail Score provides data solutions for the retail and wholesale sectors, with a focus on companies with under a billion dollars in turnover. Its services range from managing data warehouses to providing analytical tools that support the entire organisation of a retail operation.
“We can generate insights to help with everything, from the C-suite and financiers who need their daily or weekly reports, to the teams doing all the product buying and sourcing, through to marketing and e-commerce, and even for the managers running physical storefronts,” said Wayne Rigney, Co-founder and Director of The Retail Score.
Export Finance Australia has given us a leg up, enabling us to move earlier and faster than we would have been able to move by ourselves.
Wayne Rigney
Co-founder and Director, The Retail Score
Selling yourself abroad
Since The Retail Score was founded in 2016, Wayne has considered exporting its powerful tools to global markets. While these plans were “rudimentary” to begin with, the business began seriously considering its options in 2023 when a unique opportunity presented itself in the US.
“I knew of someone based in the US with a lot of experience in this space who was finishing up a role,” Wayne explained.
“I asked him to do a market assessment for me, and his report made me think ‘this is a viable opportunity – and quite a large opportunity if we get it right.’
“It was his availability that probably brought forward the decision to expand into the US,” he said.
The potential was there, but entering a new market—especially one as large as the US—requires significant financial resources. That’s where we were able to step in to help.
Crunching the numbers
We provided The Retail Score with a loan to support its overseas direct investment into the US. The support we provided The Retail Score was crucial in two ways. First, it allowed the business to bring forward its move into the American market. Secondly, it meant the expansion could be undertaken without relying on its own balance sheet, which was particularly important given the business was investing in several other projects at the time.
Soon after exports began, the business established its first partnership agreement with a third-party supplier and signed two contracts with clients—with more in the pipeline.
The Retail Score is now fully operational in the US and is looking forward to the opportunities the expansion will bring.
"Without Export Finance Australia, we wouldn't have moved as quickly," said Wayne. "Our timing would have been quite significantly different. We've been very fortunate to have been able to work with them."
