OPERATING + FINANCIAL REVIEW Anita Wolf, Marketing Manager, Global Therapeutics 01 GROUP STRATEGY Blackmores is the leading natural healthcare company across the Asia Pacific region. Blackmores’ operations include product innovation and formulation, sourcing of the highest quality ingredients, quality programs to ensure compliance with standards of good manufacturing practice and the marketing, sales and distribution of products to customers and consumers. Our operations are structured to service and deliver to multiple channels including pharmacy, mass merchandisers, grocery, health food stores, practitioners and online. Our Animal Health range is also sold to vets and wholesalers. Activities across the Group for the 2016 financial year were aligned to four key strategic priorities: • Consumer Centricity – To promote our high quality products, supported by evidence and access to trusted advice, the Group significantly increased brand investment and our understanding of the consumer in our core markets in Australia and in Asia. • Asia Growth – Asia brings access to two billion health conscious consumers, this is an opportunity for Blackmores to grow, increase scale, diversify our earnings and build a natural hedge into our business. Blackmores’ Asian-based regional structure is fully operational to enable more efficient decision making and improved operational efficiencies. • Product Leadership – Blackmores is a clear leader in the area of research and development and we have supported this with increased investment in the Blackmores Institute, a program of product range innovations and the development of independently accredited education programs. • Operational Effectiveness – Improved operational efficiencies were derived from investment in and with our supply chain partners, leveraging our Central Services business model and optimising our increased size into scale benefits. BLACKMORES ANNUAL REPORT 2016 15