Fast Movers 2008
Issue No. 44 - December/January 2008
Brand builder
CitiCar, SmartCar and Hughes Chauffeured Limousines are the trading names leading the way for Haslan Pty Ltd, an enterprise that has seen remarkable success in the highly competitive transport industry.
Hughes Chauffeured Limousines is a high-end brand catering to special occasions and luxury trade.
SmartCar is likewise a luxury ground transportation brand which markets itself as “large enough to handle all of your transportation requirements yet small enough to provide personalised service”.
CitiCar focuses on executive airport transfers and and metropolitan areas of several Australian cities. It operates 24 hours a day, year-round. Haslan is a model for merged operations which are greater than the some of the parts.
“We founded Halsan Pty Ltd in 1988,” says Haslan Director, Peter Kalendra.
“It basically transpired from a visit to the Adelaide Motor Show at the Showgrounds.
“A local limousine builder was displaying stretch limousines that could be built to order. We purchased three vehicles and started mainly as a hobby style business.
“One of the main barriers encountered during the beginning of our rapid growth phase was change management,” Peter says.
“The way we did business had to change and this meant staff and drivers had to learn new policies and procedures; it would be fair to say that we had some trying times during this process.
“On top of this we were growing faster than expected - a great problem - but our systems were not up to speed. Rather than slow down to get our systems into place we kept the pace going and brought in a person to develop the systems and procedures to cope with the fast growth track we were on.
“Staff and drivers have now adapted to all the changes, resulting in a sharper, more efficient team and systems.”
Target marketing and brand development have been essential to rapid growth for Haslan’s group.
“Branding plays a very big p...
