Wild Earth is Gold Coast’s 2023 Business of Year

Written on the 12 December 2023 by Gold Coast PR Company Consulting Hall

Fast growing Burleigh Heads-based outdoor equipment retailer Wild Earth has been named the Gold Coast's 2023 Business of the Year.

Wild Earth chief executive officer Chris Somerville said the company, which was started in 2005, now employed more than 100 people.

The business has two stores on the Gold Coast and Brisbane and it has an online store with a database of more than 500,000 customers.

“Wild Earth is now an industry leading muti-channel business that showcases a range of over 30,000 products from more than 400 brands,’’ said Mr Somerville.

“Our vision is simple, we inspire, equip, and enable people with everything needed for a lightweight outdoor adventure.

“Our business model of having the biggest range, best brands, great prices, and unrivalled service, serves to offer the new age customer everything they wish for.”

Mr Somerville said it was an honour to be named the Gold Coast’s Business of the Year and it was an award the entire team would be proud to have received.

Gold Coast Business Excellence Awards president Adam Twemlow said the standard of entries for 2023 had been exceptionally high.

“This year the quality of the businesses entering the awards has been outstanding and I thank our panel of judges for sacrificing their time, knowledge and experience to pick an incredible selection of winners for 2023,’’ he said.

Wild Earth was also named the winner of the annual Retail, Wholesale and Distribution category at the Gold Coast Business Excellence Awards presentation held at The Star on Saturday night.

The winners in the other categories of the Gold Coast Business Excellence Awards were:

• Emerging and Micro Business: Nat'v Basics
• Mayor’s Innovation GC Award: GCMarine
• Education, Training and Employment Award: Australian Paramedical College
• Health and Wellbeing Award: Morlife
• Family Business Award: Simtech Creations
• Retail, Wholesale and Distribution Award: Wild Earth
• Manufacturing Award: Knotwood
• Construction and Trades Award: Dynamic Hydro Excavations
• IT and Digital Business Award: TechConnect IT Solutions
• Tourism, Hospitality and Events Award: Sea World Cruises
• Professions & Services:  Bennett & Bennett Group
• Encouragement Award: YTB Plumbing

The awards, now in their 28th year, aim to foster pride in the city’s business community and highlight its important as a business hub. Some of the city’s best-known companies can claim to have been winners.

The awards’ major sponsors include Dreamweavers, Neumann Steel, Neumann Contractors, Currumbin Minerals, Australian Retirement Trust, Study Gold Coast, City of Gold Coast, Choice Homes, MPM Property, Westpac, Harvey Norman Commercial Queensland, Optus Business Centre Gold Coast, Griffith University, Southern Cross Austereo and Coraggio. The awards’ media sponsors include the Gold Coast Bulletin, GoTransit Media, 92.5 MMM, SeaFM 90.9, Channel 7 and 7 News Gold Coast.

The GCBEA’s major supporters are KPMG, Document Solutions Australia, Bloomtools, Consulting Hall, The Graphic Design Company and Rix Developments.