Parcels to pallets: How Addicted To Audio grew its eCommerce business with StarTrack

On an otherwise ordinary day, George Poutakidis drove past a group of kids wearing Beats headphones at a tram stop. The self-confessed music lover instantly realised that the cost of a premium audio experience wasn’t an issue for the younger generation.

That aha moment was all it took to spark inspiration for a specialist portable audio business. When it came to choosing a name, George says he pondered a few ideas before deciding that an addiction to audio, like he had, wasn’t such a bad thing.

Addicted To Audio launched in October 2010 with a store in Kew East, Melbourne and a handpicked range of premium headphones, desktop audio and portable audio.

“We let people enjoy music in a way that’s as close to the real-life experience as possible,” George says. “Our products put them right back in a concert or reveal subtle nuances, like hands moving across a guitar or an intake of breath.”

In 2021, Addicted To Audio Melbourne found a new home in their flagship Richmond store, in a beautiful three-storey building that houses specially designed rooms for an extraordinary audio experience. Its product range has since extended to home audio including speakers, amplifiers, turntables and even furniture.

Addicted To Audio also has bespoke retail stores in Sydney, Perth, Adelaide and Auckland. According to George, his business is now widely regarded as Australasia’s premier audio destination.

From lightweight parcels to heavyweight crates

From the get-go, Addicted To Audio used StarTrack Express (as it was known back then) for its delivery needs. George says, “We wanted to provide an exceptional service, and no-one was better than StarTrack Express in helping us do that.”

In 2015, Australia Post acquired full ownership of StarTrack Express, leading to its rebirth as StarTrack, complete with the iconic blue branding. StarTrack then incorporated the Australia Post postal horn into its brand to signify a unified identity.

That same year, Addicted To Audio expanded its product range to include home audio. It swiftly went from shipping parcels weighing less than 5kg to boxes, pallets and crates, some weighing over 400kg. Naturally, their delivery needs also changed.

“We now use almost every StarTrack delivery service from Road Express and Premium to Next Flight and Courier to send our products across Australia,” George says. “What we've needed over the years is a logistics company that's fluid with their delivery options and StarTrack has always kept up.”

“Partnering with StarTrack gave us the ability to scale. We were able to get later, additional and more frequent pick-ups. And there were some really good people who helped us get to where we are today.”

“With Amazon coming to Australia, we’ve found that customers demand and expect their products to be delivered in a timelier manner and we've been able to adapt to that because of StarTrack.”

George remembers two occasions when StarTrack’s Next Flight service made a big difference to a customer and himself.

The first was when a 25kg amplifier was delivered overnight from Melbourne to the outskirts of Brisbane on the Next Flight service for an event. The second was when George needed a tender delivered to a Western Australian government department the next day.

“In both instances, we knew we could fully rely on StarTrack and they delivered on their Next Flight guarantee,” George says.

A partnership built on reliability, accountability and trust

Growth and change are part and parcel of every long-term relationship and can often bring about uncertainty which sometimes leads to the parting of ways. But not if that relationship is built on solid principles like reliability, accountability and trust.

George remembers the many transitions both companies went through over their 14 years together but says he doesn’t remember a time when he felt unsupported.

“Our relationship with StarTrack is really strong and much of that is because they take accountability even for unavoidable mishaps. That’s so important.”

“It’s easy to blame a no-show driver or a broken-down truck but at StarTrack, someone is always stepping up to offer a solution and make things happen. They’ve gone above and beyond to get our products to customers so many times.”

There’s also StarTrack’s technology portal, which George says, has evolved to become so much more informative than it was a decade ago. The enhancements have enabled Addicted To Audio to provide a richer customer experience and tracking capability for shipments.

“This kind of visibility and trust are crucial for us. We've got extremely valuable products and need to rely on a company that can deliver those products to our customers safely and on time.”

One delivery company, twice the benefits

Australia Post’s takeover of StarTrack proved to be a huge benefit for its business customers, like Addicted To Audio. George says the ability to use both companies as a single delivery partner is “paramount to our success.”

“No-one else can deliver to PO Boxes, business and residential addresses (without redelivery fees) and the local Post Office,” he points out. “We deal with one company and one account manager and it all works seamlessly. It's a significant competitive advantage and that's why we love working with both companies.

That’s also why his advice to other business looking to grow and scale is to evaluate each carrier’s delivery options and the flexibility of those services.

“We have a long-term partnership with StarTrack because we know there’s no better alternative out there,” George says. “We've tried options and have always returned to what we know is a reliable and robust delivery service.”