AUSTRALIA | Melbourne’s latest Ritchies store in Balnarring has observed fantastic growth around local products. The store has been working with many local producers in the liquor department as well as the supermarket.
“The Mornington Peninsula is home to many leading wine producers. We’ve brought all of these together and created a dedicated wine room with the largest collection of local wines anywhere on the Peninsula,” said Chris Jonker, National Marketing Manager of Ritchies.
Having just relaunched the completely renovated and extended store, the focus has remained on providing the best offer to the local community. This involved providing an extensive range of the big brands that customers expect to see, along with a fantastic fresh offer of local and international products.
Jonker said the aim has been to be the ultimate destination for local shoppers and visitors on the Westerport side of the Peninsula. One such highlight at the new store's entrance was the entertaining hub.
“Home to all of our fresh departments, this area is more like a European food market than something you’d typically find in a supermarket.”
Plant-based products experienced explosive growth in the years leading up to COVID-19. While they have since settled, they remain an essential offer for the store.
“We stock a large selection of cold and ambient products, including plant-based products and a large selection of vegan products.”
Sustainability has also been at the forefront of the minds of both Ritchies and its suppliers. A notable change the store has made in the last few weeks was launching a fully biodegradable shopping bag that will break down in home compost units.
“This is understood to be the first major supermarket in Australia offering bio-degradable shopping bag alongside a paper bag option.”
Additionally, Ritchies has a long history of community support. Its loyalty programme, which has been running for 30 years, gives back a percentage of members' in-store spending to their chosen club, school, or charity. This programme is set to hit AUD $54 million in funds given back.
All Ritchies team members pride themselves on being the friendliest in the supermarket industry, and Jonker mentioned that this store's team was no exception.
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