Starting from scratch a little over seven years ago, the couple \u2013 with no experience in the media industry, but a lot of experience as small business owners \u2013 built the outdoor advertising firm to one that today boasts almost 40 digital screens nationwide, most of them in Waikato and Bay of Plenty.<\/p>\n
The rise of Globox into a significant regional media business is reflected in the news today that it has been acquired by Auckland-based outdoor advertising firm Lumo. <\/p>\n
While Sally Nicholson has continued the couple\u2019s entrepreneurial legacy over the past year, she says now is the right moment to sell as she takes time for herself and the couple\u2019s four children.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt just allows me to take a step back and focus on myself and the kids and figure out what our life is like without Allan and then without Globox. Globox was his business. I always say Allan was the ideas and I was just along for the ride.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2018ve tried to do it justice over the last 12 months or so, but I think, for me, just being able to step back and focus on my family for a little bit is the best course of action.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Nicholsons\u2019 entry into the outdoor advertising industry came via their earlier, equally successful dental business Clinico, which had denture clinics based around Waikato and Coromandel.<\/p>\n
They quickly realised that options for small businesses to use outdoor billboards were too expensive.<\/p>\n
They set about building a new business model, creating affordable options for local small and medium enterprise businesses (SMEs). The first of their Globox digital billboards went live in 2018.<\/p>\n
After the initial Covid lockdowns, the Globox business started soaring in 2022 and 2023, Sally Nicholson says.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe actually sold our dental business in December 2020 and just got stuck in with finding sites and growing our Globox business quite aggressively over the next couple of years,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were a SME and that\u2019s how we always looked at it. What would we need if we had a small business? We would want people to know who we are and where we can advertise.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was just providing a service that was not necessarily available to them before.\u201d<\/p>\n
After Allan Nicholson\u2018s death in February 2024, Sally Nicholson has continued to operate the business successfully.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlthough it has been a great distraction for me, this is an opportunity for Lumo to acquire Globox with their growth plans,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
The Nicholsons had known Lumo owners Phil Clemas and Kent Harrison for some time. <\/p>\n
\u201cI trust those guys. It\u2019s in good hands with them. They know what they\u2019re doing, they\u2019ve got the appetite for it.\u201d <\/p>\n
Lumo\u2019s big glow<\/p>\n
Lumo’s Phil Clemas (left) and Kent Harrison (right) with Globox owner Sally Nicholson.<\/p>\n
And so a big year for Lumo has just become a lot bigger, with news of the Globox acquisition.<\/p>\n