CPM Australia - Comprehensive Analysis Report

Summary

CPM Australia is a prominent sales and marketing group established in 1994, operating for over three decades to connect brands with consumers across diverse environments. As part of the global CPM International group, it operates with a core mission to activate customers and drive product sales for its clients through authentic, insight-driven conversations. The company's vision centers on influencing consumer decisions at optimal points of influence, leveraging both local and global expertise. CPM Australia is a significant player in outsourced sales, training solutions, and retail marketing services within the Australian market, and as of December 2025, has become part of Symbos Australia Holdings, marking a strategic advancement in its market position within the customer experience sector.

1. Strategic Focus & Objectives

Core Objectives

Grow Sales: CPM Australia's primary objective is to drive sales growth for its clients by engaging consumers effectively and converting interactions into revenue.
Strengthen Brands: The company aims to enhance brand presence and perception in the marketplace, ensuring clients' brands resonate with their target audience.
Develop People: A core focus is on nurturing and developing its workforce, recognizing that passionate, intelligent, and creative individuals are fundamental to delivering exceptional client outcomes.
Activate Customers: The overarching goal is to activate customers and influence their decisions through authentic conversations and innovative marketing strategies.

Specialization Areas

CPM Australia specializes in a comprehensive suite of outsourced sales and marketing services, including:
Direct Sales: Engaging customers directly to drive product adoption and sales.
Contact Centers: Providing high-standard customer interactions through best-in-class technology.
Retail Merchandising: Optimizing product placement and visibility in retail environments.
Assisted Selling: Offering in-store expertise to guide customer purchasing decisions.
Mystery Shopping: Generating insights into customer experience and service quality.
Local Area Marketing: Tailoring marketing efforts to specific geographical regions.
Creative & Digital Solutions: Developing retail concepts, campaign materials, and brand activation strategies, including augmented and virtual reality applications.
Insights & Analytics: Utilizing data to inform strategies and measure effectiveness.
Virtual Product Advisors: Leveraging digital tools for product education and customer support.

Target Markets

CPM Australia primarily targets businesses across various sectors, offering solutions for both B2B (Business-to-Business) and B2C (Business-to-Consumer) engagement. Its services cater to clients seeking to enhance their sales capabilities, strengthen brand presence, and optimize customer experience across diverse industries such as retail, telecommunications, energy, education, FMCG (Fast-Moving Consumer Goods), and consumer electronics.

2. Financial Overview

Funding History

CPM Australia was acquired by Symbos Australia Holdings on December 2, 2025. This acquisition was a strategic move aimed at enhancing Symbos' growth strategy and market capability within the customer experience sector. Symbos Australia Holdings is backed by Allegro Funds, providing robust financial support for the combined entity's expansion. Prior to the acquisition, CPM Australia was reported to have generated an approximate revenue of $566 million. The integration into Symbos is expected to further leverage digital infrastructure and AI-enabled service design, indicating a significant investment in future technological enhancements and market development.

3. Product Pipeline

Key Products/Services

CPM Australia offers a robust portfolio of services designed to cover the entire customer lifecycle and brand activation process:

Direct Sales Services:
Description: Tailored sales strategies and execution through skilled sales teams.
Development Stage: Fully operational and continually refined.
Target Market/Condition: Brands requiring direct customer engagement and sales closures.
Key Features and Benefits: Maximized reach, personalized customer interaction, measurable sales uplift.

Contact Centers:
Description: Comprehensive customer interaction management, sales, service, and support through advanced contact center technology.
Development Stage: Established with ongoing technological upgrades and quality control programs.
Target Market/Condition: Companies needing scalable and high-quality customer service and sales support.
Key Features and Benefits: High-standard customer interactions, efficiency, robust quality control, omnichannel capabilities post-Symbos acquisition.

Retail Marketing Services (via Retail Safari):
Description: End-to-end retail solutions including merchandising, assisted selling, mystery shopping, and local area marketing.
Development Stage: Fully developed, continuously evolving with market trends.
Target Market/Condition: Brands with a physical retail presence looking to optimize in-store performance and customer experience.
Key Features and Benefits: Enhances brand visibility, drives in-store sales, provides critical retail insights.

Creative & Digital Solutions (via Retail Safari):
Description: Concept and development for retail solutions (window displays, POS, digital advertising), campaign materials (promotional materials, eDM), and brand activations (event displays, kiosks).
Development Stage: Advanced, incorporating emerging technologies.
Target Market/Condition: Clients seeking innovative and engaging marketing content and activation strategies.
Key Features and Benefits: Visually compelling campaigns, enhanced brand engagement, utilization of AR/VR technologies.

Insights & Analytics:
Description: Data-driven market research, consumer trend analysis, and performance measurement to inform strategy.
Development Stage: Fully integrated into service offerings.
Target Market/Condition: Clients needing data-backed decisions for sales and marketing strategies.
Key Features and Benefits: Strategic guidance, performance optimization, understanding consumer behavior.

Virtual Product Advisors:
Description: Digital solutions providing product information and support, exemplified by the award-winning Microsoft Virtual Product Advisors initiative.
Development Stage: Proven and expanding.
Target Market/Condition: Brands needing scalable, accessible product education and customer assistance.
Key Features and Benefits: Enhanced customer self-service, efficient information delivery, innovative customer experience.

4. Technology & Innovation

Technology Stack

CPM Australia leverages a sophisticated technology stack to deliver its services and enhance client outcomes:
Core Platforms and Technologies: The company incorporates digital solutions across its operations, from retail presence to contact centers. Its "Creative & Digital Solutions" are powered by the Retail Safari division, which orchestrates various retail and campaign concepts.
Proprietary Developments: CPM engages in innovative concept and development for retail solutions, campaign materials, and brand activations, indicating proprietary approaches to design and implementation.
Scientific Methodologies: Its operations are informed by local and global insights combined with decades of experience, suggesting a methodical approach to solution development.
Technical Capabilities:
Augmented Reality (AR) & Virtual Reality (VR): CPM actively engages with these immersive technologies to create engaging brand experiences and retail solutions.
Contact Center Technology: Utilizes "best in class technology and quality control programs" to ensure high standards in customer interaction, supporting functions such as sales, service, and support.
Digital Infrastructure & AI-enabled Service Design: Crucially, with the acquisition by Symbos Australia Holdings, CPM Australia is integrating with Symbos' advanced digital infrastructure and AI capabilities. This integration is set to drive the next wave of customer experience delivery in Australia, facilitating seamless, omnichannel experiences across the entire customer lifecycle. This strategic move enhances CPM's ability to offer predictive analytics, hyper-personalization, and automated customer journeys, positioning it at the forefront of customer experience innovation.

5. Leadership & Management

Executive Team

CPM Australia boasts a lean, experienced leadership team with deep industry expertise:

Andrew Potter
Position: Group Managing Director
Professional Background: Has been with CPM Australia since near its inception in 1994, bringing extensive experience in outsourced sales strategies.
Notable Achievements: Instrumental in growing people, brands, and outsourced sales across diverse sectors including retail, telecommunications, energy, education, FMCG, and consumer electronics.
Key Contributions to the Company: Responsible for overseeing all operations, shaping company culture, and fostering innovative thinking.

Paul Crummy
Position: Direct Sales Managing Director
Key Contributions to the Company: Oversees the direct sales division, a core service offering of CPM Australia.

Nabih Awad
Position: Retail Safari Managing Director
Key Contributions to the Company: Leads the Retail Safari brand, which provides end-to-end retail marketing solutions, including creative and digital offerings.

Stephen Shipperlee
Position: Chief Financial Officer
Professional Background: Over 15 years of experience in the finance retail sector.
Key Contributions to the Company: Leads the entire commercial finance function, focusing on continuous improvement through commercial, cost leadership, and financial strategies. Responsible for group compliance, financial integrity, financial risk management, and international reporting.

Mariluz Restrepo
Position: Insights & Marketing Director
Professional Background: 20 years of experience on both client and agency sides, with expertise in consumer trends, digital marketing, customer experience, omni-channel retail, and consumer behavior.
Key Contributions to the Company: Leads CPM's marketing strategy, research, and thought leadership initiatives, driving insight-driven approaches.

Emir Montazer
Position: Head of HR
Key Contributions to the Company: Responsible for establishing a talent framework and pipeline that supports CPM's strategy and growth, aligning people strategies with business goals.

Sarah Strachan
Position: Group Account Director

Scott James
Position: General Manager Sales

Cara Berthot-Craig
Position: Group Account Director

Cath Upham
Position: Director Commercial, Capability & Talent

Laura McGrath
Position: Group Account Director

James Aguilar
Position: Group Account Director

Jobin Philip
Position: Group IT & Analytics Director

Jessica Ferlazzo
Position: Head of Partnerships

Biljana Smith
Position: Head of Capability and Compliance

Ravi Jani
Position: Financial Controller

Recent Leadership Changes

On December 2, 2025, CPM Australia was acquired by Symbos Australia Holdings. Consequently, CPM Australia is now part of the Symbos group. Avik Choudhuri holds the position of CEO of Symbos, overseeing the strategic direction of the combined entity. This acquisition signifies a major leadership transition, integrating CPM's existing management within a larger organizational structure focused on end-to-end customer experience.

6. Talent and Growth Indicators

Hiring Trends and Workforce

CPM Australia places significant emphasis on its people, considering them the lifeblood of the organization and key brand custodians for its clients. The company consistently invests in hiring passionate individuals who demonstrate intelligent and creative thinking when approaching client opportunities. It fosters a positive culture and provides clear career advancement options internally.

As a direct result of the acquisition by Symbos Australia Holdings, the combined entity is positioned for significant growth. The merged workforce will now exceed 2,000 employees across an expanded delivery network that spans Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, the Philippines, and South Africa. This expansion indicates a strong growth trajectory in both workforce size and geographical reach. Current hiring patterns align with this growth, with various roles listed on major job platforms, reflecting ongoing recruitment across different functions to support the integrated services and expanded operational footprint. Key roles being recruited typically include sales professionals, customer service advisors, marketing specialists, and digital solution developers to bolster its end-to-end customer experience offerings.

7. Social Media Presence and Engagement

Digital Footprint

CPM Australia maintains an active and informative digital footprint across several key social media platforms:
Social Media Activity: The company is present on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. These channels are utilized for sharing company news, industry insights, service highlights, and achievements.
Brand Messaging and Positioning: Its key messaging consistently revolves around its mission to grow sales for clients, strengthen brands, and develop its people. The communication emphasizes authentic conversations, innovative solutions, and the strategic use of insights to create influence.
Community Engagement Strategies: CPM Australia leverages its platforms to engage with its community by sharing reports on customer experience trends (e.g., the state of CX in Australia), seasonal insights (like Christmas shopping intentions), and thought leadership articles. They also highlight collaborations, such as their partnership with Swinburne University.
Thought Leadership Initiatives: The company regularly publishes and shares content related to customer experience, marketing trends, and sales strategies, positioning itself as an authority in its field. Their website news section and LinkedIn profiles are primary channels for disseminating this expertise.
Notable Campaigns or Content: CPM Australia promotes its awards and recognitions, such as successes at the Auscontact Excellence Awards and SHOP! ANZ Awards, using these achievements to reinforce its market leadership and quality of service.

8. Recognition and Awards

Industry Recognition

CPM Australia has received numerous industry awards and accolades, showcasing its excellence in customer experience, sales, and retail marketing:
Auscontact Excellence Awards 2023: VIC/TAS Winner for Customer Experience Initiative of the Year – Digital Transformation Category, specifically for the Microsoft Virtual Product Advisors program.
SHOP! ANZ Awards 2022: CPM Australia's Microsoft Field Labour & Influence Program was awarded "Best Shopper Experience."
CSIA Australian Service Excellence Awards 2021: Finalist for Customer Service Team of the Year (Medium) for the L'Oréal Customer Service Team.
Auscontact Excellence Awards 2021: VIC/TAS Customer Category Winners for the L'Oréal Customer Service Team.
SHOP! Marketing at Retail Awards 2018: Gold prize for "Field Marketing Excellence Award" in collaboration with Optus and Retail Safari.
POPAI Marketing at Retail Awards 2017: Silver Award for Field Marketing Excellence Award for "Microsoft Evangelists – Driving Valuable Exchanges."
Bupa Global Marketing