People Equity

What People Equity does

People Equity is an Australian boutique recruitment agency founded in 2006 by Managing Director Gabby Symons and headquartered in Hawthorn, Melbourne. The firm specializes exclusively in the retail, FMCG, and consumer sectors, offering both permanent and contract/temporary placements across eight discipline verticals: Data & Analytics, Space Management, Sales & Marketing, Human Resources, Store Development/Design & Property, GM/Director/C-Level Appointments, Merchandise Buying & Planning, and Digital & eCommerce. Its client base spans 18+ named enterprise retail brands including Coles, David Jones, Bapcor, Metcash, Spotlight, Nando's, The Good Guys, Freedom, Mitre 10, Petbarn, and Terry White.

The firm operates as a founder-owned, privately held consultancy with 1-10 employees and no external institutional capital. Its go-to-market is relationship-driven and sales-led, engaging directly with hiring managers and HR teams rather than through volume marketing. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed, but follows the standard recruitment-fee structure — typically a percentage of placed-candidate annual salary for permanent placements, plus margin on contract engagements. Distribution is entirely domestic (Australia-wide), delivered through direct enterprise sales supported by content marketing (blog, LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook), thought-leadership events such as the 2020 CX summit co-hosted with datmedia and Google Chrome Enterprise, and word-of-mouth referrals.

Underlying technology is minimal by design: the firm runs no proprietary software platform, has no app or API, and competes on consultant relationships, sector knowledge, and a long-cultivated candidate network rather than automation. Revenue is generated purely through placement fees on each successful hire, making consultant productivity the single most important operating metric. Ownership is concentrated with founder Gabby Symons, who has led the firm continuously since inception and remains the primary client-facing principal.

Name

People Equity

Legal name

People Equity

Website

https://peopleequity.com.au

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

People Equity is an Australian boutique recruitment agency founded in 2006 that places permanent and contract candidates in retail, FMCG, and consumer organizations across eight specialized disciplines, serving enterprise clients such as Coles, David Jones, and Bapcor nationally.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Hawthorn

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Permanent Placement Fees: People Equity charges recruitment fees for permanent placement services, typically a percentage of the placed candidate's annual salary. This is the primary revenue stream for executive search and direct hire placements.
2. Contract/ temporary Placement: The company also places candidates in short-term and fixed-term contract roles, providing specialized expertise for business-critical projects. This has seen increased demand particularly in Technology, Marketing, Merchandise and Store Design & Development areas.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

People Equity is a specialized retail recruitment agency that places candidates into permanent and contract roles across the Retail, FMCG, and Consumer sectors in Australia. The company operates across multiple specialized verticals including Digital & eCommerce, Merchandise Buying & Planning, GM/Director/C-Level Appointments, Data & Analytics, Space Management, Sales & Marketing, Human Resources, and Store Development, Design & Property.

Product overview

People Equity is a specialized retail recruitment agency providing staffing and talent acquisition services across multiple disciplines in the retail, consumer, and digital sectors. The company offers specialized recruitment verticals including Digital & eCommerce Recruitment, Merchandise Buying & Planning Recruitment, and GM/Director/C-Level Executive Search services. The agency operates as a single unified service offering with distinct specialisms covering Data & Analytics, Space Management, Sales & Marketing, Human Resources, Store Development, Design & Property, and Digital & eCommerce disciplines. The company makes both contract and permanent placements across Melbourne, Sydney, and Australia-wide.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Digital & eCommerce Recruitment Specialized recruitment service placing digital and eCommerce professionals including Digital Director, Head of Online, Front End Developer, Full Stack Developer, Data Scientist, UX Designer, E-commerce Trading Manager, and Performance Marketing roles in retail organizations.
• Merchandise Buying & Planning Recruitment
• GM, Director & C-Level Appointments
• Retail Executive Search
• Data & Analytics Recruitment
• Space Management Recruitment
• Sales & Marketing Recruitment
• Human Resources Recruitment
• Store Development, Design & Property Recruitment

Named customers19 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.

• datmediacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 March 2020People Equity partnered with datmedia (experts in the customer experience space) and Google Chrome Enterprise to host the CX done Better, Smarter, Faster summit in Melbourne. The partnership was driven by discussions with clients about pain points around store experience and consistency in marketing communications. datmedia specializes in impacting instore environments in the retail sector.
• Google Chrome EnterprisecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 March 2020Google Chrome Enterprise team collaborated with People Equity and datmedia to host the CX done Better, Smarter, Faster summit. David Eglin from Google explored the future of the shopper journey and ways successful retailers are leading the way. This partnership enabled knowledge sharing around enhancing customer experience in retail.
• Converge InternationalflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerConverge International partnered with People Equity for executive recruitment services, placing a Chief Customer Officer into their executive leadership team. The partnership exemplified true collaboration with values-aligned briefing, candidate experience focus, and mutual respect. Converge International supports mental fitness and productivity of workforces through EAP programs and HR consulting services across more than 1,000 organizations in Australia.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• Robert Half: Global staffing and recruitment firm with Australian operations, including dedicated practice groups in retail, marketing, and digital. Competes for similar mid-to-senior level retail and consumer placements, but offers a much wider service portfolio including contract staffing and consulting.
• Michael Page: Global recruitment brand with a strong Australian presence placing professionals across retail, consumer goods, and digital functions. Directly competes for permanent and contract retail hires at the GM/Director level, though operating as a multi-sector generalist rather than retail-exclusive.
• Chandler Macleod: Established Australian recruitment and workforce solutions provider covering retail, FMCG, and consumer sectors. Overlaps significantly with People Equity in retail talent placement, though broader in scope including volume staffing and HR consulting.
• Randstad Australia: Global staffing leader with comprehensive Australian operations, including dedicated retail and consumer practice groups. Competes in the same enterprise retail recruitment market but at much larger scale and broader service scope including temp, contract, and permanent.
• Talent International: Australian-headquartered recruitment firm with strong presence in technology, digital, and transformation roles — including retail digital mandates. Overlaps with People Equity's Digital & eCommerce vertical, though broader in technology coverage rather than retail-exclusive.
• Hudson: Asia-Pacific focused recruitment and talent management firm with Australian operations across multiple sectors including retail and consumer. Comparable in placing mid-to-senior retail professionals, with stronger technology platform offerings but less retail-specialized branding.
• Hays: Global recruitment firm with a significant Australian footprint across multiple sectors including retail, consumer goods, and digital. Directly comparable as a competitor in the same Australian enterprise retail recruitment market, though it operates as a broad incumbent across many industries rather than retail-specialized.

Direct peers

• Frontline Retail: Australian specialist retail recruitment agency with a similarly focused value proposition in the retail and consumer sectors. Most directly comparable peer given shared retail-exclusive positioning, national Australian reach, and similar service lines across store, head office, and executive placements.
• people2people: Australian recruitment agency with dedicated retail, consumer, and corporate services practice. Comparable as a similarly-sized, relationship-led Australian recruiter focused on mid-market and enterprise retail clients across permanent and contract placements.

Emerging players

• Ambition Australia: Australian recruitment firm with dedicated practice areas in marketing, digital, sales, and retail. Overlaps with People Equity in placing digital, marketing, and eCommerce professionals into retail organizations, though broader across professional services sectors.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/PeopleEquity
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/people-equity
• Instagraminstagram.com/people_equity

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about People Equity