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HARRISON ERA
THE HARRISON ERA
1994
With legislation introduced allowing 24 hours trading, in 1996 Sunday trading began across Victoria. In 1998, Ritchies opened a licensed supermarket at Dandenong – the most up-to-date store ever opened by the company. Opening week set an all-time record for independent retailing in Australia. It was a blueprint for future Ritchies upgrades and new store fit-outs until the advent of Ritchies Fine Food and Wine stores some 18 years later.
In 1998, the IGA (Independent Grocers of Australia) banner was launched in Victoria, and independent banners were consolidated into one brand. All Ritchies supermarkets were resigned with the IGA logo.
In 2001 Ritchies began to expand beyond its traditional marketplace with the purchase of IGA supermarkets in Gippsland, Western Districts, in northern Victoria and in the Goulburn Valley. Ritchies proudly opened its first interstate store on 6 December 2004. More would follow.
2009
In 2009 Ritchies won the IGA National Community Chest Award, two Victoria Day Awards and the BRW ANZ Private Business Community Award. By 30 June 2006, Ritchies’ running total was 33 supermarkets and 34 liquor licences in Victoria; and in NSW, 11 supermarkets and four liquor licences.
In 2007, Ritchies opened the company’s first-ever Queensland store.
Ritchies Fine Food and Wine
In 2013, Ritchies was offered the opportunity to expand the supermarket in the Mt Eliza Village Shopping Centre as the property was in receivership.
Ritchies was not in a position to acquire the shopping centre but a group of willing investors got together to look at buying the centre and negotiated with Ritchies to develop a larger, high quality supermarket and enter into a long term lease. LMP Project Pty Ltd was born and acquired the centre.
Ritchies designed a supermarket of close to 2,000sqm and a separate liquor store of around 250sqm.
The team then set about designing and developing a higher quality premises. Ritchies wanted the supermarket to champion fresh produce and aim to achieve a high percentage of fresh sales each week.
Bakery was recognised as a key fresh department and was built front and centre of the entrance to the store. A huge deli was designed to include a specialty cut and wrap cheese counter and Lenards Chicken, produce and meat were also incorporated into the fresh offer, with the remainder of the store ranged as grocery.
The focus was on ranging high quality unique gourmet products to provide a point of difference to competitors. The first Healthy Living department was born, whereby focus was on retailing specialty healthy food. Products had to achieve a certain criteria to be ranged within stores. Fresh food sales have performed very successfully for Ritchies over the journey.
Rather than brand the store as a Ritchies SUPA IGA, the alternative was a name that would reflect this new concept store, so Mt Eliza was branded and launched as 'Ritchies Fine Food and Wine Merchants' with a new logo designed accordingly.
Following the success of Mt Eliza, Dromana was opened as a Fine Food and Wine store and became even more successful.
Mt Eliza has won the IGA Victoria Store of the Year an unprecedented five times and has also claimed the Australian IGA Store of the Year once.
The Ritchies Fine Food and Wine concept came at a critical time for Ritchies Stores. The sales and profitability were down, and unable to differentiate the offer from that of the chains. This concept proved popular and sales and profitability increased markedly
The Ritchies Fine Food and Wine concept has now become the model for store upgrades, refurbishments and greenfield sites and there is no doubt that Mt Eliza and Dromana influenced this decision. Not every future store will be branded as such, but this has allowed for the development of a number of successful Fine Food and Wine stores.
Ritchies has worked hard to develop a unique range of lines including freshly popped corn, freshly squeezed juice, nut butters and mussel tanks, which all add to the image of being a fresh food specialist.
Dromana Fishers
This was a very successful store in its own right but after its success at Mt Eliza, Ritchies decided there was an opportunity to expand the supermarket and convert it to a Fine Food and Wine store. Dromana attracts an influx of holiday makers and weekenders and the construction of the Peninsula Link meant roads in and out of Dromana were much improved, with a reduced travelling time from Melbourne of about 20 minutes. This all pointed to the success of a modernised expanded fresher store.
This store has provided great inspiration to all at Ritchies. In 2016, the Managing Director of the Fishers group of stores in the Mildura region, approached Ritchies CEO Fred Harrison to indicate he wanted to move to Melbourne and it would not be feasible to manage and operate the Fishers supermarkets whilst separated geographically. It was time for Alan to sell the business. Alan had promised long ago that Ritchies would be given the first opportunity to purchase if he sold and true to his word, this offer was formalised. To add 13 Fishers supermarkets was a huge undertaking and provided a real challenge for the Ritchies team.
The acquisition of Fishers supermarkets meant that Ritchies now held a total coverage of stores in Victoria. Whilst some locations would remain far from a Ritchies store, they now covered the north, south, east and west of the State.
For the first time in the history of acquiring stores, Ritchies elected not to change the name of the Fishers business to Ritchies. It was felt that Fishers' 105-year-old heritage meant customers were very comfortable with the Fishers brand.
2010
• Yarra Glen named Victorian SUPA IGA Store of the Year.
THE LAST 10 YEARS A SNAPSHOT
2011
• Ritchies set a limit of 3kg of bananas per customer after QLD cyclones devastate crops.
• R itchies developed the first ever greenfield site at Kyogle in QLD and opened a new licensed supermarket and specialty tenancies.
• R itchies acquired the former SPAR store at Boonah in QLD.
• For the first time in history, two new stores opened on the same day − a greenfield store at Paynesville on the Gippsland Lakes in Victoria and a supermarket and liquor store in the picturesque coastal town of Nambucca Heads, NSW.
• M YERone was introduced to the Ritchies Loyalty offer
• Y arra Glen named the National Retailer of the Year for Customer Service.
2012
• Acquired Evans Head store in NSW from an independent retailer.
• O pened a licensed Victorian greenfield site in Bairnsdale on 28th August.
• Opened a supermarket and liquor store in Taree.
• Recognised for an Industry accolade with the Carrum Downs supermarket winning the “Victorian SUPA IGA Retailer of the Year” – a credit to all concerned.
• Operations Group appointed in each State, with the respective State Managers acting as Chairman, along with a National Operations group comprised of senior members of the operation groups. • Ritchies signed to purchase nine
Franklins stores from Metcash. Bateau Bay, the first ex-Franklins store was acquired on 16th July and Singleton Plaza, the ninth and final ex-Franklins store transitioned to a Ritchies store in mid-November. The Franklins stores provided Ritchies the opportunity to gain a presence in the biggest retail market in Australia. Ritchies reputation is a strong independent retailer who does things ‘how the locals like it’. Now bringing this experience and expertise to nine new areas in the NSW market, Ritchies was confident of turning the nine Franklins stores around quickly as SUPA IGA and IGA stores, thereby providing the locals with packaged grocery and fresh products at very competitive prices.
• Ritchies acquired Elermore Vale and Harrington Waters stores.
2013
• The Community Benefit program donations for the financial year were just short of $2M.
• R itchies introduced the first Self Check Outs (SCO’s) at the Mt Eliza store.
• R itchies Kyogle was awarded the title of “SUPA IGA Liquor Retailer of the Year.”
2014
• The highlight of the year was the refurbishment and subsequent relaunch of Mt Eliza
T his store was the first of the Ritchies Fine Food and Wine concept stores with a focus on all fresh departments.
S pecialty sections such as cut and wrap cheese, seafood, free range chicken, aged meat, game meats. More direct lines were stocked with an emphasis on high gourmet. Jarrod Swaine and Richard Hobbs travelled Australia, met with suppliers and industry experts to come up with the design. Ritchies executives put an incredible amount of planning into the layout, design and ranging of the supermarket, to say the least. This was no ordinary Ritchies supermarket and the range was hand picked, with many of the senior executives travelling Australia to establish the range and maximize the potential sales of fresh food. • T o offer yet another point of difference to customers, a Healthy Living category was introduced. Utilising the services of a qualified naturopath, nutritionist and herbalist, in conjunction with Ritchies buying team, this has been forged on an outstanding range of unique Healthy Living products. Customers are far more knowledgeable regarding nutrition and ingredients and were demanding organic whole foods as well as quality gluten free and vegan options. Healthy Living is like a specialty store within the Ritchies Stores.
• M t Eliza provided the confidence to open further Ritchies Fine Food and Wine Stores. The future lies in more fresh food, gourmet lines, pre-prepared meals, Healthy Living (organic wholefoods, quality gluten free, vegan and vegetarian options).
• Ritchies Masters of Meat (MoM) was introduced, followed by a value-add section, "All Natural Ingredients", and other marketing initiatives.
• Following the success of the Mt Eliza store, Ritchies purchased the Sorrento store to open as a Ritchies Fine Food Store. Sorrento has been a success from our first day of trade
2015
• Ritchies agreed to expand its Dromana supermarket by a further 600 sqm. A 250sqm meat room was added giving us the convenience of cutting and packing meat as required
• Ritchies agreed to purchase its next greenfield site - a parcel of land in Maclean on which to build a 2,250 sqm licenced supermarket.
• Ritchies first sushi outlet opened at Mt Eliza, with stunning success. This would lead to a national rollout of this category in select stores.
• R itchies acquired a SUPA IGA licenced supermarket in Bright, Victoria.
• Devastating storms hit the Central Coast of NSW in late April and closed five Ritchies stores for four days.
• M t Eliza won the “Victorian IGA Retailer of the Year” award and followed up in July by winning the “National IGA Retailer of the Year” award.
• R itchies Berowra store was extensively damaged in a fire. With minimal tenure on the lease, Ritchies elected not to renew.
2016
• Ritchies Beechworth store was destroyed in a deliberately lit fire. As the only supermarket in town, this would have a huge impact on the community. Ritchies needed to launch a pop up store until the store could be rebuilt. Beechworth is a historic town with heritage overlays and the company was struggling to find a suitable site until a local business offered use of its premises. True community spirit.
• Prior to the Beechworth and Berowra fires, the last Ritchies fire was in 1863 so to have two stores burn down within 18 months was unforeseen.
• T he signing of contracts to purchase the 13 Fishers supermarkets was a highlight of the year. Ritchies acquired one Fishers store in June and the remaining 12 stores in the July to September period. This would provide a great opportunity for the company in the longer term.
• O n Monday 20th June, Ritchies acquired Miners Rest, the first of our Fishers stores. it provided an opportunity to test our changeover strategies before consecutive rollouts began in early July.
• The new Dromana store opened in November 2016. This refurbishment saw this store increase in size from 2700sqm to 3500sqm, with a major expansion in the fresh offer and an emphasis on gourmet lines throughout.
• The Mt Waverly store was completely transformed and relaunched.
• The Mt Eliza store won the IGA Victorian Retailer of Year for the second consecutive year. • The Boonah store officially launched on Wednesday 8th June 2016.
• In July 2016, Fred Harrison was inducted into the IGA Hall of Fame. Named after the Chairman of IGA Inc., this honour recognises leadership and outstanding achievements and contribution to the Australian independent retail grocery industry.
2017
• Mt Eliza went into the record books as the only store to win three consecutive State IGA Store of the Year awards and Mt Waverley wins SUPA IGA VIC Store of the Year - the first time one company has won both the IGA and the SUPA IGA awards in a single year.
• R itchies opened the Amberley Park store in Narre Warren South.
• For the first time in the company’s history Ritchies achieved a billion dollars in sales in a single year.
2018
• Dromana won VIC Retailer of the Year (ROTY) and National IGA ROTY and was ultimately named the IGA International ROTY in San Diego to become the best IGA store in the world. These awards take into account community contribution, customer service, brand values and shopper experience as well as sales, profits and department excellence.
• Ritchies Cobram was awarded the Victorian IGA Community Award as the business demonstrating the most outstanding community involvement and engagement.
• M t Eliza was named VIC IGA Retailer of the Year for the fourth consecutive year.
• T he Boonah store was announced as the QNN SUPA IGA Retailer of the Year.
• R itchies opened the newly built Beechworth store. The appropriate theme of the launch function was “Rising from the Ashes”.
• T he Rowville store was redeveloped as a Ritchies Fine Food and Wine store.
2019
• Following a complete rebuild, Ritchies officially opened New Lambton. This was the first NSW store to be branded as Ritchies Fine Food and Wine and a forerunner to a number of other similarly branded Ritchies stores, including Maclean and Spit Junction.
• R itchies Mt Martha opened on Monday 24th June − a key addition to the strong store portfolio on the Mornington Peninsula.
• Ritchies Numurkah opened which fits into the Ritchies network very well being close to Cobram, Yarrawonga, Tatura and Kyabram stores.
• After much anticipation, Maclean supermarket was the first greenfield launch for eight years. It took 7 years to get the store designed and built, but this delay allowed for a better designed and more functional supermarket to be built.
• O n Thursday 18th July, the Somerville store celebrated 40 years of trade.
• Ritchies Mt Eliza store again received the VIC IGA Retailer of the Year award for an unprecedented fifth consecutive year at the IGA Expo. • Ritchies was honoured to receive the Salvation Army's "Others Award", made to an individual or organisation that exemplifies the spirit of service to others. This award is given only to those who have exhibited extraordinary service benefiting The Salvation Army and/or community. No more than one “Others” award is allowed to be recognised in a community in a given year.
• B oonah won QNN ROTY again having previously won this title in 2007. Boonah went on to win the National and International award.
2020
• Ritchies celebrates 150 year anniversary.
• Ritchies reaches the 50 million dollar milestone through the Community Benefit Program and re-launches the Ritchies Loyalty program.
• Ritchies launch “the friendliest team in the supermarket and liquor industry” objective, to be the retailer who best delivers this promise to our customers.
• Open new Ritchies Fine Food and Wine store at the historic site of Pentridge in Coburg, Victoria.
Ritchies Directors: Frederick A Harrison, Malcolm A Cameron, Edwin M. Jankelowitz, James W Cameron, Brad Soller, Scott A Marshall
Our biggest strength is our people.
The number of team members Ritchies has employed over the years is in the order of tens of thousands and Ritchies wishes to thank them all for their loyal service. Ritchies knows its teams will continue to deliver the outstanding and friendly service for which Ritchies has become famous.
Ritchies also wishes to thank its Customers, Suppliers, Board Members and Shareholders for their continued support. Ritchies simply could not operate without these partnerships.
Ritchies will continue to modernise, fine-tune and grow its network into the next decade and beyond.
