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OUR RETAILERS LOU JARDIN SPAR Australia Managing Director What has been your greatest lesson to date, navigating through this pandemic? To me the biggest outcome has been how good the SPAR team are. Once hit by the pandemic, we were able to rally and adapt, but more importantly, move quickly to meet the challenges. Very quickly we were able to modify our systems and organise ourselves to ensure that all our retailers didn’t miss out on receiving their crucial supplies. However, it was the ability of the staff to step up and lift the tempo and put the hours in to make this all work. From a standing start we were able to ramp up the business to meet the demands of the consumer. A very proud moment in our very short history. With all the challenges you’ve faced, what has been your proudest response? SPAR faced many challenges, but none more important than supply from our suppliers. SPAR was in danger of being overlooked as Coles/Woolworths and Metcash scrambled for stock. Although SPAR faced the same shortages that were common in the market, apart from a few exceptions SPAR was able to maintain continuity of supply. SPAR faced the added issue where many of the SPAR stores are the only supermarket in the town and when you add the lockdowns in some of the rural communities, the responsibility was enormous. All our stores were able to get regular, timely, consistent deliveries throughout this period. What extra measures have you needed to implement to provide a safe and highly productive environment for both your staff and your suppliers? SPAR had to move quickly to institutionalise a safe work environment. As SPAR is a small team, there was no margin for error. ‘Safe distancing’ and ‘sanitiser’ are now common words within the workplace. SPAR had the added advantage where we could draw on the experiences from Europe where SPAR has a big presence in Spain and Italy, two of the hardest hit countries. Material covering every aspect of COVID-19 facing both stores and warehouse soon became available Human behaviour is never easy to navigate. What positives have you experienced from both consumers and suppliers? How quickly everyone rallied to meet the challenge was extremely positive. It just shows that, faced with a common threat, everyone pulled together to meet the demands. No one that I’m aware of dropped the ball or worked against the determination to pull through the challenges Where does our industry still need help and what response do you need? SPAR is a small player in an industry dominated by large public and multinational companies. There should be some recognition that even small players are vital to maintain competition in the industry. As a supplier to independent stores, we’re very small when compared with Metcash, and it’s very easy to get forgotten. We have to fight hard to make sure we get a fair share for our retailers. How has your community interaction changed over the past few weeks? There’s no doubt that the industry will change like never before. How we all adapt to the expectations of the new consumer and move to a delivery system that offers safety first is going to see a fundamental shift in the industry. The big hurdle is how we make this cost effective, but we’re learning all the time. If you had a message or a call to arms to our entire industry, what would it be? My message is very clear: small family businesses are vital and employ many Australians. Recognition that we, too, have to be competitive is vital to ensure that the big players don’t dominate. “SPAR is a small player in an industry dominated by large public and multinational companies. There should be some recognition that even small players are vital to maintain competition in the industry.” “SPAR had the added advantage where we could draw on the experiences from Europe where SPAR has a big presence in Spain and Italy, two of the hardest hit countries.” 12 RETAIL WORLD APR, 2020