AUSTRALIA | Entrepreneur Adrian Portelli has opened his first LMCT+ supermarket in Melbourne, offering shoppers a new way to save on groceries through an annual membership programme.
The store opened this week in Deer Park, in Melbourne's western suburbs, taking over the site of a former IGA supermarket. Portelli has indicated plans to expand the business across Victoria.
Rather than operating a conventional supermarket loyalty programme, LMCT+ is offering a membership priced at A$99 a year, covering access to grocery and fuel discounts.
LMCT+ has also promoted a price-beat guarantee against Coles and Woolworths. Under the offer, the supermarket will beat a competitor's regular shelf price by 10 percent on identical products, provided they are in stock. Promotional prices are excluded.
The annual membership fee introduces a different consideration for shoppers. Customers need to save more than A$99 across groceries and fuel during the year before the subscription delivers an overall financial benefit.
For LMCT+, the challenge is attracting enough regular customers to support the business while maintaining prices that encourage shoppers to return.
Portelli has acknowledged the purchasing advantages held by Coles and Woolworths, particularly on products where their buying volumes allow them to negotiate lower prices.
He has also indicated an interest in providing smaller Australian food businesses with opportunities to sell through his supermarkets, potentially offering another outlet for suppliers seeking alternatives to the major chains.
The Deer Park store has undergone an 11-week redevelopment, including changes to its refrigeration and fresh food departments.
The concept differs from Costco's membership warehouse model, which is already familiar to New Zealand shoppers. LMCT+ is operating from an existing neighbourhood supermarket site, combining an annual membership with a price-beat offer against established retailers.
Whether customers see sufficient savings to justify the annual fee will be an early test of the model, particularly as the business looks to expand beyond its first location.
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