Summer questions: Gracie MacKinlay on Mighty Ape’s record-breaking 2023 sales

Mighty Ape chief executive Gracie MacKinlay shares some thoughts on the company's huge year in business.

Mighty Ape chief executive Gracie MacKinlay says this year has been immense for the online retailer, seeing the company introduce same-day delivery seven days a week, its own mobile service, a Christchurch distribution centre and breaking sales records on Black Friday. Despite a successful year, MacKinlay says 2024 will bring challenges for retailers as Kiwis continue to face cost of living pressures.

How would you describe 2023 for Mighty Ape?

This year was a year of many milestones for Mighty Ape. There were so many highlights, like expanding our popular Jungle Express same-day delivery service to seven days a week for customers in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.

The Mighty Ape distribution centre in Auckland.

In August, we launched Mighty Mobile, New Zealand’s first prepay plans with truly unlimited data.

Last month, we opened a new distribution centre in Christchurch, the very first time that we have had a distribution centre outside of Auckland. We can now provide even faster delivery and better service to our South Island customers.

We also had the biggest single sales day in Mighty Ape’s history on the increasingly popular Black Friday. And the final icing on the cake was being ranked number one by Kiwis for the Kantar Customer Leadership Index.

What will be your biggest business challenges in 2024?

Many Kiwis are still struggling with the high cost of living. It’s the biggest challenge in the retail business, so for us it’s all about continuing to constantly review our range and operation efficiency in order to offer more value for our customers, while also maintaining the high standard of service we’re well known for.

Covid is not the biggest disruptor anymore, however unpredictable weather is becoming frequent.

Building a culture that embraces changes and being agile is important to enable us to work around things that we can’t plan for.

Mighty Ape had its biggest sales day in history on Black Friday.

What opportunities do you see in 2024?

Our recently launched 5500sq m distribution centre in Christchurch is a key focus for 2024. We will be expanding our stock holding in Christchurch as well as opening up pickups for our local customers.

Our same day delivery service Jungle Express has experienced rapid growth since we launched it in late 2021, and we’re looking to expand our Jungle Express service areas in 2024.

We see Mighty Mobile as a major growth opportunity for the new year. We expect more people will appreciate Mighty Mobile’s unlimited data without a usage-based speed throttle, a truly stress-free mobile experience.

What was the most interesting news story of 2023?

I was fascinated by the New Zealand Bird of the Century news story. British-American comedian and talk show host John Oliver hijacked the annual bird of the year competition and campaigned for the little-known pūteketeke.

The competition normally attracts about 60,000 votes but jumped to 350,000 votes from 195 countries this year, over 80 per cent of votes were for the pūteketeke!

Gracie MacKinlay and One NZ chief executive Jason Paris at the Mighty Mobile launch.

What are your predictions for 2024?

I don’t really have predictions, but certainly feel we’re due for a good summer this time around.

What’s the worst mistake you have made in business?

It’s not a single incident, but an accumulation over a few months where I wasn’t paying attention to my mental wellbeing.

Looking back, recognising the signs of problems and using the tools I know today, I would have been in a better state of mind. This has been my biggest learning from my working career so far.

Nau mai te hapa - welcome the mistake. You need to break a few eggs to make an omelette.

Mighty Ape introduced same-day delivery every day of the week in 2023.

What would you rate as your greatest success?

Learning how to swim after the age of 30. Growing up in China, I never learned how to swim. Coming to New Zealand, I joined an adult swimming school at Tepid Baths (Auckland).

I started out from the kiddy pool and now I’m a confident swimmer. I’ve completed many open-water swim races, including my longest swim of 7.1km river swim race. I’m also a scuba diver and a keen windsurfer.

Where and how are you holidaying this summer?

I’m going to New Caledonia for a tropical holiday. I’ve been learning French on the Duolingo language app (with a 700-plus days streak!) to prepare for the trip.

What would you recommend as a good book to read over summer?

A few colleagues of mine read Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity by Dr Peter Attia recently and they recommended it to me. It’s a topic of interest for me, so that’s what I will be reading this summer. Plus books with big text always get an extra tick from me!

Atomic Habits by James Clear is a great book for anyone to read, especially at the start of the new year. We have read this book twice in Mighty Ape’s staff book club. It gives you tips and tools for building habits. I have personally benefited a lot from reading this book.

Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman is a short read. It makes you think about our relationship with time and I recommend it.

For a lighthearted read, I have enjoyed travel books from Bill Bryson. It often cracks me up while I also learn a bit about the places he’s travelled.

Alka Prasad is an Auckland-based business reporter covering small business and retail.