27 years and 27 million customers later 

After 27 years popular owners Rob and Sam Outridge are selling their beloved hinterland business.

Rob and Sam will hand over the reins of Maleny IGA to the Seasons IGA Group on August 1.

After running the IGA for seven days a week, 364 days a year, the couple is eager to take a well-deserved break and look back on what they achieved.

“I think the most gratifying part of the experience has been looking back and seeing the value we have been able to add to our community by supporting family owned small businesses and employing local people,” Rob said. “Family and community are everything in the end, and here in Maleny, I hope that we have had a positive impact on both.

“When we first came to Maleny, we basically had a ten year plan. But the town has been wonderful to us, and here we are 27 years later!”

“We must have been doing something right judging by the lovely feedback we are getting since the announcement. It’s been quite overwhelming,” said Sam.

The entrepreneurial couple made the move to Maleny on the October 2 1995 after running a successful newsagency in Mundubbera.

“The business ticked every box on our list,” Rob said. “It was a great business, in a great town, with plenty of scope to add value and grow.

“In the beginning, we were completely raw. We went from having a couple of staff at the newsagency, to 62 staff, in a whole new industry. It was daunting to have that many people looking to us for leadership when we ourselves were learning as we went along,” he said.

The existing staff were instrumental in assisting Rob and Sam in the early days, and the periods of exponential growth that soon followed.

“There are so many people who helped us when we first arrived, and none more so than Lena Beausang, who was a Manager at the time,” explained Rob. “Without Lena I really don’t know how we would have survived, to be honest.”

The couple invested back to back 100 hour work weeks for years, and the business quickly expanded and enjoyed double-digit growth, year on year.

“Maleny has been very good to us,” said Rob. “It has been an amazing place to raise a family, and a connected and thriving community to be a part of. And the community has rewarded us over and over again for the effort we have invested in the business.

“It is an incredibly responsive place,” he said. “The community won’t take a step back if they are not happy with you but, by the same token, they will always step up and support you as well. We have been overwhelmed by the messages of support we have received since we made the decision to sell. It validates our decision to go into business in Maleny and make it our home.

“Now we are excited to pass the business on to the Seasons IGA group who will take it into its next chapter.”

Rob estimates the business has served about 27 million people – equivalent to the population of Australia during their years. 

Innovative Community Benefits Club democratises small town giving

Maleny IGA has supported countless community groups and not for profit organisations since 1995. This commitment to give back was formalised with their Community Benefits Club (CBC) scheme in 2006.

“Maleny is an incredibly engaged community and I used to keep a ‘run sheet’ of sponsorships and donations in the early days,” said Rob.

“Up until 2006 we had donated or sponsored around $700,000 to various community groups. We found that the same groups typically benefitted from our support, but there are so many other worthy organisations doing fantastic work in the community. And we wanted to give our shoppers the option to support the organisations of their choice,” Rob said. 

“When we devised the CBC scheme it seemed like a very democratic way for the funds to be allocated back into the community and it meant that value could be added to a wider range of community groups.”

Since 2006, more than 150 community organisations have received $1.7 million thanks to Maleny IGA customers nominating their preferred organisation or charity through the CBC scheme.

Sam said the number one CBC beneficiary was Sippy Creek Animal Refuge.

“We are aware that there are some groups that have been kept afloat thanks to the funds that flow back to them from CBC, so it really is a win-win for everyone concerned,” she said. “It is wonderful that our customers can see the difference they can make by shopping with us.”

The CBC scheme has represented the perfect working model of the old adage ‘what goes around comes around’.

“We have seen that these contributions have fostered the health of the community,” said 

Renovations & expansions helped boost local economy

Just twelve months after Rob and Sam took the business over, the first major renovations took place.

“We spent $1.3 million dollars and basically gutted the building during the first wave of renovations,” Rob said. “At the time, our accountant told us we had spent too much.  Twelve months later, he was saying we had not spent enough!” 

Everything was replaced, from fixtures, fittings and refrigeration, to the floors which were restored with the now-iconic Tasmanian oak flooring. “You can still see the different eras in the ceilings though,” said Rob.

“We made a point of using as many local tradesmen, engineers, town planners, designers, architects and key people as we could during our renovations, because it has such a terrific multiplier effect back into the community,” he said. “This is in line with our commitment to add value and keep local dollars circulating locally.”

A $3 million renovation followed in 2014, when the floor space was increased by 100m2 and space under the building utilised. The renovation reflected the growth of the business and presented the opportunity to elevate the already unique supermarket shopping experience.

From the outset, the couple blazed a trail in terms of creating a shopping experience unlike typical supermarkets. The country town feel has been enhanced with sophisticated, metropolitan styling and product lines. This creativity and innovation has been recognised and awarded many times over.

“We have worked hard to incorporate design features that were unique to our town,” Rob said. 

The store got hold of a local Bunya pine that was knocked over during Cyclone Oswald from local wood artisan David Linton. It was used to build the beautiful timber shelving and produce bins in the fresh produce section.

An art installation representing the Obi Obi creek winds through the ceiling of the fresh produce department and adds interest and a local vibe to the store.

A story of hard work and dedication

Message from Div 5 Cr Winston Johnston

Prior to Rob and Sam Outridge purchasing Frews Supa Value store in Maple Street, Maleny, 27 years ago, Alison Frew introduced them to me and recommended my business to become their general insurance broker. Rob, Sam and their business partners accepted this recommendation and thus began a strong continuous business relationship and personal friendship.

Not long after taking over the store, they renovated and extended the store, as well as renaming the business Maleny IGA. As the business grew and as a result of subsequent renovations and extended floor area, they were able to develop a larger delicatessen, significantly expand their range of refrigerated products, and meat products. In addition they expanded their range of locally produced specialty foods and visitors often speak with wonder about these specialty products which are not available from the big supermarket chains.

Due to their hard work, friendly personalities and extensive range of specialty items, they developed strong support from local clubs and organisations. Consequently when Woolworths opened their store in Maleny, the Maleny IGA continued to receive strong support and the store today is a focal point for locals and visitors alike.

Locals and staff will remember Rob and Sam working long hours, often when the store closed, in preparation for the following busy trading days and holiday periods. Operating a large and growing grocery store is hard and exhausting work. Although they will be greatly missed at Maleny IGA and within our local community, I know that our community will wish them well for the future and that they enjoy travelling as well as spending much more time with family and friends.

The new owners of Seasons IGA have purchased a great business and will be warmly welcomed as an integral part of the Maleny Community.

Nurturing hundreds of young employees’ working lives

Since 1995, the IGA has been the biggest employer in Maleny and for many young locals, a job at the IGA represented their first experience of employment.

Over the years the business has employed over 1000 locals, many of them school-aged kids.

“It has been a privilege to take on young people and give them their first work opportunity,” said Rob. “While some kids take to work like a duck to water, for others, it isn’t so easy. They need to be given time to find their feet because everyone is different. Employing young people with our own money has been incredibly rewarding.

“I have often checked in on new employees who report to their Supervisor that they are struggling. I generally encourage the supervisor to be patient and hang in there for a month or so. More often than not, with a bit of patience, they blossom. It has been incredibly fulfilling to see our young staff come out of their shells and become confident and capable.

Sam said it was gratifying when parents of past employees thank them for giving their child their first work opportunity.

“We have been told by many parents that their child’s employment and training with us was one of their best work experiences. And for some young people who had been experiencing social anxiety or other issues, it was transformative. Our focus has always been on developing our people and building good experiences for them in the workplace.”

Rob said some past employees had gone on to become extremely successful adults with their own businesses.

“Now we are also now finding ourselves employing the children of our early staff,” he said.

Twenty seven years later, Rob and Sam are employing multiple members of the same family, or having past staff return from time to time.

“I guess that is a good sign that people have found this to be a good work environment,” said Rob. “Leading a team of people to add value to our community and its families has to be one of the most rewarding aspects of our time in Maleny IGA.”

An incubator for local
producers and suppliers 

Maleny IGA has a well-earned reputation for carrying boutique and specialty products from local suppliers, a point of difference that helps separate them from other supermarket chains.

“A lot of local producers and suppliers have enjoyed their start in business through our store,” Rob said. “Around 15 percent of our range is supplied by local businesses. We have become a bit of an incubator for business start ups, with industries from IT companies to primary producers starting out with us and in some cases, going on to become extremely successful. Maleny Dairies is a good example of this,” he said.

Maleny Dairies milk is the top selling line in dairy, and the number one selling product in the deli is Peachester ham.

“We also have beautiful products from Maleny Cheese, Pomodoras, Montville Coffee and Country Harvest, just to name a few,” he said.

“Narelle Ratcliffe of Country Harvest initially worked for us before moving on to purchase Country Harvest with her husband Steve, and we love that we have been able to continue working with some of the incredible staff that we have employed over the years.”

In the early days, Rob and Sam supported the Agriculture Department of the Maleny High School.

“I remember the students had grown a huge crop of silverbeet and we took all of it and sold it in the shop,” he said. “Not surprisingly, it sold out very quickly. Our customers were extremely supportive of the idea.”

The couple has remained passionately committed to sourcing, showcasing and stocking Australian products.

This has been vigorously backed up by a growing demand by consumers for Aussie products. 

“When we launched our Aussie Wobblers (pictured) campaign in 2020 it was exceedingly well received and supported by our customers,” said Rob.