Rod Duke has been selling things since he was 16. First shoes, then appliances, and eventually homewares and sportswear.

Born in Adelaide, Duke came to New Zealand in 1988 to spruce up a flailing Briscoes for sale. Two years later he scored the best Briscoes deal ever, he bought the whole company himself for $2.

He ended up with 12 shabby stores, where dusty wine glasses were sitting on the shelf for $2.71 each.

But it didn’t take long for Duke to turn the business around.

Today, there are almost 100 Briscoes and Rebel Sports stores around the country, and Briscoes is a listed company that’s been defying the odds of the economic downturn.

The Briscoes boss unpacks it all with Kerre Woodham on the latest episode of Bosses Unfiltered.

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Dame Wendy Pye is one of the most successful businesspeople in New Zealand.

She’s a rich-lister, her publishing company Sunshine Books has sold over 300 million books worldwide, she's met countless more world leaders, and she was the first living woman to be inducted into the New Zealand Business Hall of Fame.

But it hasn’t all been easy. Dame Wendy has gone through a life changing redundancy, legal battles, and had many deals that couldn't be closed.

She joined Newstalk ZB's Kerre Woodham in studio for the first episode of Bosses Unfiltered.

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Kiwi businesses have been navigating the biggest economic turmoil in decades. Wherever you look, business leaders are making tough calls: staff cuts, putting payroll on the credit card, or worst case… closing the business altogether.

They thought they had it all: a great idea, solid marketing, and a healthy amount of capital. So where did it all go wrong? And can they ever turn things around?

In Bosses Unfiltered, Kerre Woodham, interviews prominent Kiwi businesspeople who’ve experienced failure and adversity and lets them tell their story.

When did they realise their dreams weren’t coming true? How big was their fall from grace? How did they pick themselves up and where are they now?

Bosses Unfiltered tells the real story behind the headlines. About what it’s really like being in business, in a raw and vulnerable way, while showing that there is light at the end of the tunnel, and that success can quite often come from failure.

Listen to Bosses Unfiltered every Thursday morning from 11:30am during Kerre Woodham Mornings, and follow the podcast on iHeartRadio or wherever you get your podcasts.

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