Company Overview

Collectively, our company and its team are regarded by Australians as the experts in vacuum cleaners and cleaning products, accommodating consumers at all price points. Historically, Godfreys customers have remained loyal to the business, even through periods of economic challenge. Godfreys is an integrated business that designs and develops vacuum cleaners, floor care and other cleaning products, coordinates manufacture, develops brands, advertises and sells to both wholesale and retail markets. We have over 600 employees across our retail network, head offices and company-operated warehouses.

Godfreys’ multichannel offering is distributed via over 170 stores (a mix of company-owned and franchised) located in standalone ‘superstores’, shopping centres and retail shopping strips in Australia & New Zealand. Godfreys’ products are also distributed through wholesale channels via a range of retail outlets and an online platform.

The business grew from strength to strength over the years, and through a business partnership that lasted over 70 years, the Godfreys brand became a household name synonymous with vacuums. Godfrey Cohen passed away in 2004 and his business partner, John Johnston, aged 100, passed away in 2018 after an amazing career. Today, the legacy of both gentlemen continues following the acquisition of Godfreys in mid-2018 by the Johnston family.

Godfreys is an iconic Australian retailer with a trading history spanning more than 90 years. Our company was founded from humble beginnings by Godfrey Cohen in 1931 during The Great Depression. At the time vacuum cleaners were sold door-to-door and could not be purchased in stores in Australia, so Godfrey began selling reconditioned vacuum cleaners through his father’s furniture store in Bourke St, Melbourne.

In 1936 Godfrey Cohen met his business partner and 19-year-old sales clerk John Johnston through a financing company. Together with John Johnston, Godfrey Cohen opened his first store in Prahran, Melbourne, and continued to revolutionise the vacuum cleaner business in Australia. Over the years, the business has grown from strength to strength and the Godfreys brand is synonymous with vacuum cleaners.

In 2004, Godfrey Cohen passed away and John Johnston in 2018, both men had amazing business careers. John Johnston had been the longest-serving contributor to Australia’s vacuum cleaning industry and was actively involved in the business until December 2018, inspiring the Godfreys’ management team and the wider company.

Godfreys is the only organisation in Australia & New Zealand servicing all segments of the vacuum and floor care cleaning products market with a full product offering via multiple brand channels. We have achieved significant scale through a comprehensive network of stores across Australia & New Zealand, making us the largest vacuum cleaner retailer in the trans-Tasman region.

Godfreys has sold millions of vacuum cleaners and continues to lead the market through continuous product innovation, a clear strategy for product development, a strong sales culture focused on continuous training, and good old-fashioned hard work. Innovation is part of our DNA and a key part of our strategy. Godfreys has an established track record of developing interesting new products and bringing them to market far quicker than our competitors.

We see ourselves as a ‘disruptor’ in the floor care and associated cleaning products space, able to accommodate and thrive at a range of different price points.

We are seeing a seismic shift in the market towards consumers’ desire for overall personal health and wellness. Australians have become more health-conscious, not only about their eating and exercise habits but also about the desire to have a healthy and sanitised home environment.

This trend is being amplified by the increasingly busy nature of the modern household. A life with long work days, caring for kids, pets or parents, or managing to exercise and having an active social calendar means people do not have much spare time to clean the house.

There is a clear progression towards consumers favouring greener, chemical-free home cleaning methods, which is driving strong demand for Godfreys’ steam mops and dry-steam mop vacuums and sticks.

The other key driver in our product development is the increase of chronic allergies such as asthma and respiratory irritation caused by dust mites, pet hair, carpet dust and toxic cleaning chemicals. This has presented a significant opportunity for the business in the air purification and filtration space, where Godfrey vacuums ensure that the air coming out of the vacuum is cleaner than when it enters.

The everyday pressures of modern living have also turned working people into a time-poor generation, where consumers want household chores to be done in half the time. This trend has given rise to us providing answers to the time-poor through a robotic segment. Our state-of-the-art robot vacuums are used as a second device to do a basic job in the background when customers don’t have time to do a deep clean of the carpet.

Australia’s ageing population is also driving a trend towards downsizing to smaller living in apartments and townhouses. This has increased the need for lighter, more easily manoeuvrable vacuums like the stick — which is easily portable up and down stairs, with handles that can be folded to save on storage space.

Godfreys estimates the floorcare and associated cleaning products market in Australia & New Zealand, generates AU$1.3 billion of sales per annum. The domestic customer segment accounts for AU$0.8 billion and the commercial customer segment accounts for AU$0.5 billion. The Australian & NZ retail vacuum sector is highly competitive, with retailers offering considerable choice in products and brands across a range of price points, which are sold to the domestic and commercial sectors via retail, wholesale and online channels. Key product categories include vacuum cleaners, carpet shampoo machines, steam cleaners, general merchandise, accessories and repairs and services.

Godfreys sees ongoing growth in our industry sector, as consumer focus on healthy home environments and time-saving cleaning solutions increases, driving product innovation and new product category growth. This has resulted in the emergence of high-end premium-priced floorcare products, which have been supported by consumers.

Continued growth in the number of households is expected to underpin the growth in demand for floor care and associated cleaning products, with the number of Australian households expected to increase by 38% from 2010 to 2031.