In this episode, Dean Backman & Luke Callery sit down with John Bowen (Managing Director, Bowens) to unpack what keeps a 131-year business alive—culture, disciplined basics, and smart bets on innovation. Recorded live at CIRCA Studio, Bowens Port Melbourne, John talks about starting in Victoria’s early-90s downturn, rebuilding crumbling yards into modern builder hubs, and why Bowens stays laser-focused on pros: stock depth, rapid delivery, and solutions that actually save days on site. They dig into long-tenured teams, the Bowens Expo, and new hands-on spaces for high-performance building.

What you’ll learn

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  How to scale without losing the soul: the habits that keep teams for decades

  
  


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  The real meaning of “best at the basics” (and why it beats shiny new things)

  
  


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  Practical ways suppliers can accelerate your day: stock, systems, and a yes-mindset

  
  


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  A builder-first approach to innovation: selection centres, expos, and training

  
  


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  What’s coming for high-performance building—and how Bowens plans to help

  
  


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  How private, purposeful growth keeps the focus on builders (not retail volume)

  
  

Chapters

00:00 – Introduction (live at CIRCA Studio, Bowens Port Melbourne)

00:23 – Meet John Bowen: 4th-gen MD, 131 years strong

01:07 – Early ’90s downturn: starting out when Victoria stalled

03:17 – Store closures, hard lessons, and culture that stuck

06:20 – From timber yard to selection experience: why it took years

10:33 – Formalising innovation: from Steve Mannion to Andrew Healy

13:04 – Bowens Expo: drawing real innovation from suppliers

15:33 – Rebuilding the asset base: bigger, better, builder-focused stores

21:24 – Basics done right: stock, range, and rapid delivery

24:31 – Challenges: do fewer things, execute them better

26:22 – Acoustic, fire, thermal—solving real site problems

27:30 – Hastings innovation space: hands-on display and training

29:08 – Growth philosophy: private, purposeful, and builder-led

Hosts: Dean Backman & Luke Callery

Guest: John Bowen — Managing Director, Bowens

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