34
INDUSTRY SPOTLIGHT
NATIONAL VICTORIA
Why MGA membership is crucial to my business Some business decisions are hard to make - they take time, research, analysis, financial considerations and so on but deciding to become a member of the Master Grocers Associations (MGA) was a “no brainer” for Lhere Artepe Supermarkets Pty Ltd. Our company joined the MGA over ten years ago when we first took ownership of three IGA stores in Alice Springs. What a great business decision that was Operating a business in a very remote location such as Alice Springs certainly has its challenges. For example, the population of Alice Springs is only around 26,000 people. There are two major national supermarket chain stores in town plus seven independents (three of which are ours), so competition is high in a relatively small marketplace. Added to this are the freight costs and the time it takes to get goods to the stores (and let’s not talk about how long it takes to get any equipment delivered). Including securing new
suppliers willing and able to deliver to a remote location, the hot weather, the different legislation requirements of the Territory Government compared to other parts of Australia and importantly securing and retaining staff - to name a few. Our Store Managers and other senior staff don’t have the same opportunities to attend industry conferences and information sessions that perhaps our colleagues do in urban centres, so keeping abreast nationally of what is happening is less easy for us. This is one area where we find the MGA invaluable. The information flow received from the MGA through their Independent Retailer Magazine and the Checkout
e-newsletters is just gold. We find out what is happening around the country, what other Independent Grocers are up to, what changes are expected to be introduced by the Federal Government that may impact our business, what workplace legislative changes are to be introduced. All this information is received in a very clear and timely manner. Thank you, MGA! Added to this, we have had opportunities to seek and receive sound advice for individual staff members from the MGA Legal and IR team on difficult staffing matters, employment contracts, rates of pay and so on. Special thanks are attributed to George Kovits, MGA National Liquor President, for the assistance he gave Lhere Artepe Supermarkets during the changes to the Northern Territory’s Liquor Act. George lobbied Government on our behalf and gave us sound advice on how these changes would impact our business— much appreciated, George. We want to thank the MGA for the services, advice and information it provides to us here in the middle of Australia.
L-R: Adam List Store Manager Eastside IGA, Temba Ncube CEO Lhere Artepe Enterprises
mga.asn.au | September 2021 | Edition 5
Sally McMartin Company Secretary and Manager External Affairs Lhere Artepe Enterprises NT - Alice Springs 3 IGA Independent Stores
