Factory Tours for Year 11

The Year 11 QCE and IBDP Business Management students have participated in separate excursions to four different local businesses during terms two and three . In June, the IB students visited the NuPure Bottled Water factory in Stapleton and the IKEA Super-Store in Logan.

At NuPure students were able to see a mass production system capable of supplying the whole country with drinking water. The management generously provided a tour inside the factory to see the production line running at full speed. They also explained the many challenges involved in producing in such high volumes and competing against giant multi-national corporations such as Coca-Cola.

At IKEA students met with the Marketing Manager to learn about the significance of ethical and sustainable business operations in gaining a competitive edge over competitors. They also collected evidence relating to inventory management and customer service strategies in one of the largest retail operations in Australia.

In August the QCE students visited two local businesses that are achieving great success despite facing intense international competition from much larger rivals.

At the UGG Since 1974 factory in Miami, students were given a tour of the production system to learn how this business makes a range of custom designed Australian products for its stores on the Gold Coast and in Sydney.

The owners spoke to students about the challenges of marketing a premium quality product both domestically and internationally when the main international competitor can mass produce a cheaper, albeit inferior, product. Students also learned about the importance of effective use of social media campaigns in communicating a clear message about quality to the target market.

At the ONE Group MiEssence factory in Molendinar, students met with former Somerset parent Narelle Chenery who founded this organic cosmetics business 25 years ago in her own kitchen. Narelle spoke passionately about how to develop a unique cosmetic product concept with genuine organic certification, source pure organic ingredients from all over the world, and produce a premium quality range of products that are shipped to over 50 countries. Narelle also spoke about the challenges of breaking into the Chinese market and the importance of maintaining the integrity of the brand in all aspects of product design and packaging.

The College Business and Entrepreneurship team would like to thank each of these businesses for their generous support of our IB and QCE programs. We are sure that these experiences will be of great benefit to students not only in their current studies, but also in their future careers and entrepreneurial endeavours.