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sustainability by supporting local people and families through a collaborative effort to build a self-sustaining and vibrant community. White’s locavore food culture is further enhanced by doing business locally, engaging providers, suppliers, designers, manufacturers and various local contractors, wherever possible. We’ve recently launched free home delivery for online shopping, which extends the old-fashioned home delivery services we’ve been providing to our local shoppers for many years. We have a full calendar of community events and programs throughout the year to support our most vulnerable, youth homelessness, sick children, the terminally ill, domestic violence victims and people with disabilities. We’re involved in each store’s community to support the local school, recreational sporting clubs, the university and many wonderful community organisations. Community is at the core of everything we do and every decision we make. How has White’s IGA community interaction changed over the past year? White’s IGA and our community are synonymous. It’s just what we do and who we are. It reflects our values and is important to us. It’s something we’ve always done, from the very beginning of owning stores – since 1993. It’s about gratitude and respect: respect for people and gratitude for our community’s support. That will never change. What new consumer trends have you noticed? And how have you responded to demand? Global trends are very relevant locally. People are keen on purchasing goods that connect them, which has accelerated with this pandemic. Consumers’ interest in clean label products is increasing, as is eco cleaning, sustainable and ethical sourcing, and fair trade. Shoppers are supporting local for assurance of quality and looking for healthy eating options. As a retailer in this modern world of change, it’s imperative to understand where shoppers are going and how their needs are developing. There are many resources available to keep abreast of what’s next. I follow industry and food specialists with interest, but also talk to our local shoppers to understand what’s important to them. The other dimension is to create a shopping destination that’s relevant to their needs but also provides an enjoyable experience. We invite our shoppers to stay, chat, socialise, linger and enjoy their time in-store with us. What changes are you seeing in the retail, consumer and supply spaces? I’ve been proactively sourcing artisan, unique and local products for almost two decades, but we’re now experiencing a broad-spectrum fundamental shift towards this. There’s an abundance of local goodies out there now, which \\\[wasn’t the case before\\\]. Today, buying local is easy and very accessible. This is being driven by consumers’ desire to access climate friendly food and quality assurance due to a keen interest in the origins of what they consume. Price and value continue to be important. Can you talk through some of the key challenges that continue to impact supply/distribution, and the White’s IGA group’s role in addressing these? Streamlining deliveries to store continues to be a focus for us. We stock thousands of SKUs from hundreds of local suppliers. Some come direct from farm to store, which is brilliant for the consumer but requires additional effort through our back of house. I recently assisted with the Greater Sunshine Coast Food and Agribusiness Network’s Meet the Makers trade event showcasing 80 local exhibitors as their ambassador, which involved coordinating suppliers and distributors to help local producers get their fabulous products to market and to expand on new opportunities that streamline deliveries through collaboration. What’s next for White’s IGA group and the outlook for the rest of the year? We’re currently doing an expansion and rebuild of one of our stores and are in the first stages of creating a design for a brand new store scheduled to open next year. We’ll continue to reinvest and upgrade our stores to ensure they’re market leading, modern, ‘retail-tainment’ shopping destinations to excite, entice and engage our valuable shoppers. Where do you see the grocery industry and recovery over the next year? Market players will experience a range of challenges and successes: • Price will continue to be important, complemented by the rise of private label. • Reducing costs and improving efficiencies will remain a focus to safeguard margins. • The expansion of health, clean label, special dietary, plant-based and free- from foods will continue to rise. • Niche, customer-led alternatives will drive an important segment in the market. What community initiatives are you part of and what do they mean to you? Outside of White’s IGA, I personally undertake several roles within the community, such as: • President, Sunshine Coast Business Women’s Network. • Non-executive board director, Montrose Therapy & Respite Services, providing care and support to children with rare neuromuscular disorders and physical disabilities. • University of the Sunshine Coast (USC) foundation board member. • USC Business School external academic advisory committee member. • Sunshine Coast Council Economic Resurgence taskforce committee member. • Speaker at industry events and USC guest lectures. • Mentor. • Ambassador, Food and Agribusiness Network (cluster organisation) Meet the Makers event. • Active fundraiser and supporter for charities such as Youturn, the Salvos, GM54K (Give Me 5 for Kids), Montrose Therapy & Respite Services, Steps Charity, LifeFlight, Wishlist, Compass Institute. EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW APR, 2021 RETAIL WORLD 15