Our Story
Bulla was founded in 2012 by Sarah Mitchell and James Thompson, who recognized a critical gap in New Zealand's retail consulting landscape. With backgrounds in international retail operations and digital transformation, they saw that local retailers were struggling to compete with global giants entering the market.
The company began with a small team of five consultants in a modest Auckland office, focusing primarily on inventory optimization for independent retailers. Our first major success came in 2014, when we helped a Wellington-based homeware chain reduce inventory costs by 32% while expanding to three new locations.
By 2017, Bulla had expanded its service offerings to include comprehensive digital transformation and logistics optimization. This evolution came in response to the changing retail landscape in New Zealand, where e-commerce adoption was accelerating and consumer expectations were shifting dramatically.
Today, Bulla employs a team of 28 retail specialists working from offices in Auckland and Wellington. We've helped over 150 New Zealand retailers scale their operations successfully, with a particular focus on preserving the unique character and values that make Kiwi businesses special while enabling them to compete effectively in an increasingly global marketplace.
