Gale Pacific is back in form since discovering it doesn't pay to change a profitable strategy

It is frightening how quickly an award-winning company can slip to the brink of disaster. When Harry Gale retired in 1995 from the company he founded in Melbourne in 1951, he felt confident of its continued success. However, within a year, a slight shift in strategic direction had swollen overheads and profits were plummeting, and by early last year Gale Australia's future was in doubt. The situation was not helped by the sudden death of Harry Gale, who had returned to take the company's helm.