OverviewIn 1965, Roger Drake commenced his supermarket retailing career with the Coles Myer Group. In 1974, after 9 years at Coles Myer, Roger established his own business by purchasing his first store for AU$29,000 in Mitcham, a southern suburb of Adelaide, South Australia – a three-lane supermarket called Jack & Jill’s with 4 employees. After three successful years, Roger opened a larger supermarket at Torrensville, in the western suburbs of Adelaide. The company has grown opportunistically since then and now owns 48 stores throughout South Australia and Queensland, with a turnover in excess of $800M and 4500 employees nationally. Drake Supermarkets is the largest independent grocery retailer in Australia and specialises in supermarket retailing. In addition to their supermarket stores, the company operates a liquor store, several newsagencies and a consulting service. The company also has a significant property portfolio. The company’s strength lies in operating on the principles of a family business and supporting local manufacturers and suppliers.cRoger prides himself on knowing as many of his staff as he can by name. He spends time every day out in his supermarkets, talking to staff and customers alike, and always endeavouring to improve the level of service the company provides. Despite its expansion, the company has managed to keep its focus on the important aspects of the supermarket business – THE CUSTOMER – by always striving to provide superior customer service. This is the company's competitive edge – along with its family values and South Australian roots. One of Roger’s best-known sayings is “I am not your boss, the customer is your boss, for without the customers, none of us would have a job!” As a first generation family business, Drake Supermarkets has achieved great success in a market dominated by two retail giants. An increased focus on staff training and development, customer service initiatives, innovation and an expanded social media presence have been among the key factors to this growth. However, Drake Supermarkets overall sales growth is the commitment to our customers, community, staff and suppliers.
Our VisionTo Be a World Class Retailer Our MissionTo provide our customers with exceptional service, value for money, great range and an outstanding shopping experience Our Values
Staff TrainingDrake places a high importance on staff training. Fostering the next generation in the business is a key strategy for our future growth. Drake is a registered training organisation and offers opportunities for all our employees to undertake nationally recognised training. In 2010, this included:
In 2009, 30 employees completed Diplomas as part of the Retail Executive Program – the first in Australia to do so. In August 2010, graduates were recognized at an Industry Forum organized by Service Skills South Australia, and were presented with their certification as a ‘Retail Executive’. Staff loyalty and retention are strengths of the group which enjoys one of the highest longevity of staff in the retail industry. Each year Roger & Wendy Drake host an awards luncheon for staff who have reached employment milestones of 10, 20 or 30 years service. In 2010, 51 employees received a gold watch in recognition of this achievement. Today the 10 Year Club has 240 inductees who are still employed at Drakes. Customer ServiceDrake Supermarkets Mission Statement is to: Provide our Customers with Exceptional Service, Value for Money, Great Range & an Outstanding Shopping Experience. Managing Director, Roger Drake has made it policy that he personally responds customer inquiries, and ensures there is direct follow up by the Store Manager.
Drake Supermarkets is also proud of its 10 Service Guarantees, and all our staff are highly trained in these areas:-
We stock our stores to suit the local area We do our best to get items a customer asks for We willingly assist the elderly or disabled We phone for a taxi if a customer needs one We happily carry a customer’s shopping to their car We support local charities & community groups We support local suppliers & producers Our Product OfferOver the past year, Drake has grown its organic and health food offerings as well as its celiac range to meet growing demand. We have also introduced a greater range of prepared meals, full meal packages and gift cards while establishing more in-store Lenard’s chicken franchises over the past year. Drake Supermarkets has a policy of sourcing only Australian-made produce wherever possible to support local suppliers, farmers & producers.
Innovation & Social MediaOur Vision Statement is to: Be a World Class Retailer. In 2010, Drake Supermarkets became the first independent supermarket chain to introduce self-scanning checkouts, which have been met with positive customer response. IA central online portal has also been established that can be accessed by every store manager. This ensures a uniform approach to store management and promotions while providing all the relevant Drake policies and resources at the press of a button. Drake now has a their own Facebook and Twitter accounts and we have in excess of 5000 Facebook friends and this is growing every day. Drake Supermarkets has also launched the “Drake App” for mobile phones which allows customers to search for stores within their area and gain access to a wide range of specials, competitions and the Drake Supermarket catalogues. Community & Charitable ProgrammesAs a first generation family company, Drake Supermarkets prides itself on upholding family values within a corporate structure. Supporting the community has always been an important part of Drake Supermarkets since the very beginning, and Drake Supermarkets believe all good companies have a corporate social responsibility to do this. We support the community not for the recognition, but because it's the right thing to do and we look forward to continuing this in the future. Drake Supermarkets supports the local community through various initiatives:-
To date Drake Supermarkets has donated in excess of $1.0M to local community & major charitable organisations, through our Community Dollars Programme and the Charity Show Bag initiative. The Drake Supermarkets Charity Show Bag has been successfully running now for 12 years and to date we have raised in excess of $545,000 The major charities who have benefited from our various initiatives are:-
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