Macquarie Telecom adds Roses Only to string of retail success stories

Macquarie Telecom is talking up its role in helping Roses Only Group achieve record customer retention amid high demand during COVID lockdowns.

Roses Only’s access to cloud, VoIP and SD-WAN services, which helped the company meet an influx of orders during lockdowns in 2021, according to MacTel. Roses Only doubled its deliveries during that period.

Brisbane-based Roses Only delivers floral gifts, fruit hampers and wine to customers across Australia via 10 local warehouses.

Roses Only CEO Kelly Taggart said reliable and scalable digital support and customer service helped meet demand. “When order numbers doubled during lockdown, Macquarie helped us maintain this standard and prevent website downtime. Our own seamless experience with Macquarie’s local team meant we could also easily call them if any issues arose and have them fixed on the spot,” she said. This helped Roses Group change delivery addresses or communicate delays.

“The pandemic showed customers they can purchase, customise, and alter orders from the palm of their hand,” Taggart said.

Taggart also said Macquarie’s cloud infrastructure and telecoms services also enabled the business to accurately analyse data and forecast the availability of 100 flower and stem varieties. This helped Roses Only keep waste to less than two per cent.

MacTel’s press release also talked up the importance of Roses Only’s technology environment in keeping the business running during floods in Brisbane in early 2022, when one of its warehouses was affected.

“Reliable communication is key during these events. Luckily, we had plenty of warning ahead of the flood, and our deliveries were only delayed by 24 hours. During this time, we were able to contact thousands of customers via phone and text and update delivery dates on our system without a hitch,” Taggart said.

“We’re looking at adding more brands and businesses to our mix, and the support from Macquarie is comforting in this respect. I’m not concerned that adding another website will be a house of cards,” she added.

Macquarie Telecom has announced a number of wins with retail networks this year, including to deploy VMware’s SD-WAN, 4G backups and NBN services to Mycar Tyre & Auto’s 275 tyre repair and auto-services stores.

In July, MacTel rolled out SD-WAN services across clothing company City Beach’s 66 stores to provide a more stable and scalable network. In March, MacTel secured a deal with Domino’s Pizza to roll out NBN, VoIP and VMware VeloCloud SD-WAN services to some 720 of its stores across Australia.