Australian outward investment case study

Market research company Tebbutt Research started up almost 20 years ago in a small home-office in Sydney, NSW, with just one employee - its founder, Ms Caz Tebbutt.

Specialising in satisfaction surveys, social research, program and policy evaluation, concept testing, brand development, attitude studies, opinion polls and media ratings, the company grew steadily.

In the early 1990s, with the help of Austrade’s Export Market Development Grants scheme, Tebbutt Research expanded into the Pacific Islands, opening an office in Fiji and doing project work across the region.

Ms Tebbutt said the company now has a blue-chip client base. “It has taken a lot of persistence and commitment to build up to where we are today. But it has paid off - we now work with the who’s who of multi-nationals and large local industry in the Pacific Islands,” she said.

Tebbutt Research employs around 200 staff across 16 countries in the Pacific, including 70 field staff in Papua New Guinea. Business is going so well that the company is opening a permanent office there later this year.

Ms Tebbutt said Austrade’s help over the years has proven invaluable. “Austrade provides more than just a service – they provide the right type of assistance that allows us to maximise the opportunities available to us.

“We have a wonderful personal relationship with Austrade Trade Commissioners and staff in the Pacific region. There is a high level of trust and a partnership approach.

“Austrade certainly helped us pioneer the market research industry in Fiji,” she said, “and now they are helping us in Papua New Guinea.”

Austrade’s Fiji-based Trade Commissioner, Dan Williams, said “It’s not easy for new companies to break into the Pacific Islands market. Success is based on trust and long term commitment.

“Tebbutt Research has shown an ability to thrive in the tough, male-dominated business environment of the Pacific and has done so through good times and bad,” he said.

Caz Tebbutt was named the Fiji Business Woman of the Year in 2004 and was the first ever female President of the Fiji-Australia Business Council.

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