But Jim O’Malley told the Otago Daily Times the company was not immune to wider economic conditions, and revealed the company’s income was now 30% lower than what it was around the time the liquidation was averted.
‘‘I wish the economy would pick up.
‘‘We're basically swimming along with our head just above the water.
‘‘That's obviously a lot better than we were two years ago when we were thinking about liquidating.’’
Ocho was saved from voluntary liquidation in July 2024 when a vote to do so fell less than 5% short of the threshold required for it to succeed.
The result was seen as a vote of no confidence by the company’s previous board, who resigned from their positions and triggered the election of a new board.
Then-Ocho board chairman Pete Lead said they believed the company was unable to trade out of its financial situation and had ‘‘no prospect of achieving future profitability under the current business model’’.
Dr O’Malley, who stepped down as a director earlier that year, was re-elected with the plan of selecting a permanent board within three months.
He said yesterday it could be another 18 months before he considered stepped away again.
There was about $100,000 worth of debt at the time of the liquidation proposal, but also $2.5 million worth of investment.
‘‘To have liquidated that $2.5m for that debt was a bit crazy.’’
Ocho’s income had dropped about 30% since the Reserve Bank began lowering the Official Cash Rate in August 2024 — ‘‘just around the liquidation meeting’’, Dr O’Malley said.
He put that down to a ‘‘significant’’ drop in sales to small retailers, who used to comprise about half of Ocho’s sales.
Since then, the company had diversified its markets and was less dependent on small retailers outlets.
Sales were slowly coming back and picking up.
‘‘I'm very confident that it's stable and going to keep going.’’
While Ocho would continue to build up its New Zealand market, the real growth would come from exports.
He hoped within 12 months the company would be ready to take its first steps into exporting to the United States.
Continuing its diversification into more corporate-based markets, such as hotels, would also produce more stable sources of income.
Staff had developed a lot more capacity for self-management and he was only putting in about 10 hours a month.
‘‘I'll stay until I know I'll never have to come back.’’
