Family Founded – Jeff Harper

For more than two decades, Jeff Harper has been at the grass roots of customer service and local community. He owns and runs the IGA local grocers in Southbank in the Melbourne CBD and suburban Ashburton in the city’s inner south east.

“I am still young and wet behind the ears after 20 years,” he jokes with Australian Life.

His humility and support for local is definitely something to smile about.

“We stock many products from Victoria and Australian brands and we are looking at that more and more ,” he says. “I wish we were more like Tasmania where we could really call out local produce very specifically, but we are always doing what we can,” he explains.

Despite operating two stores, Jeff is also Chair of the State Board of IGA supermarkets in Victoria and is very influential in making local business and brands front and centre for Aussie shoppers.

“The community in our CBD store is all about connection. Many of them work from home and are stuck in their apartments. They visit us six or seven times a week and it’s fantastic. They even come in and tell us when they are going away on a few weeks holiday,” he laughs. “There’s a coffee shop behind us that probably sells coffee that is ten time better than we make, but they come into us because we have created a community and they just want to have a chat,” he explains.

The thing about the local IGA is that, like human connection in general, it means different things to different people.

“In Ashburton, they come to us because they want to be a part of the local community. They have a community fare in Ashburton and 20,000 people turn up. You don’t hear about those things anymore. It’s amazing. 90 per cent of my customers are regulars,” he says.

Even for this article, Jeff was more interested in talking about his team than himself.

“I have got some really good staff that are aged 18 to 25 years and I have them for a few years while they are uni students. The kids are from within the community or need connection after COVID. So, they get to know the customers personally,” he said.

One of Jeff’s focuses is being able to support local shoppers with personal car service for struggling Mums shopping with kids, or older locals who need a helping hand.

“Only your local independent is able to do that. You won’t get that with Coles or Woollies,” he says.

Before leaving, I bought some Cobram Estate Olive Oil, fresh tomatoes and grapes (not to eat together FYI). We can all do our bit to support local. Thanks Jeff.