Celebrating 15 years of Outback Stores

by servicedesk | Feb 20, 2023 | Latest News

Celebrating 15 years of Outback Stores

Outback Stores was founded in November 2006 to improve the health of Indigenous people in remote Australia by addressing nutrition-related health problems, unreliable food supplies and poor management practices associated with retail community stores. It was an initiative led by the Commonwealth Government, with help from corporate retail experts who assisted in setting up the organisation in its early stages.

The first community to be assisted by Outback Stores was Imanpa in November 2006 and then Ringer Soak (Kundat Djaru) in March 2007. Canteen Creek was the first official store under our management in Northern Territory and since then we have extended the scope of our services to include remote Western Australia, South Australia, and most recently remote New South Wales.

Any store profits are retained by local store owners and are utilised by those owners for the benefit of the community

Over the past fifteen years, our primary focus has been to maintain food security and provide a high level of professional service to our customers, whilst addressing financial concerns, affordability and logistical challenges faced by the remote retail sector.
The stores we service are either considered ‘managed’ or ‘supported’. Managed stores are generally commercially self-sufficient and generate a profit. Supported stores require financial support on an ongoing basis.

Any store profits are retained by local store owners and are utilised by those owners for the benefit of the community. For non-profitable stores, Outback Stores supports the store with financial underpinning to ensure that food security is maintained.

Since 2006 Outback Stores has succeeded in halting the potential closure of 24 stores. We have managed 11 stores out of administration, 3 out of liquidation and a further 10 stores through significant financial challenges.

This story features in the Outback Stores Annual Report 2021-22

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Spotlight on Kaitlyn Ahfat

by servicedesk | Feb 3, 2023 | Latest News

Spotlight on Kaitlyn Ahfat

Kaitlyn works at Nauiyu Store, situated on the banks of the Daly River, 250km north-west of Katherine.

Kaitlyn’s mother’s family is from the Daly River region, and her father’s family is from Barunga and Katherine. Kaitlyn lives with her sister and daughter, who is four years old. She has four sisters in total and three brothers, most of whom still live in the area.

After completing high school at Kormilda College in Darwin she returned home and quickly found work at the local post office, then later moved to the community of Peppimenarti where she worked doing administration tasks at the local arts centre.

She has now worked for six years at Nauiyu Store. Since Outback Stores started operating in the community three years ago, Kaitlyn has completed a Certificate IV in Retail Management.

Kaitlyn appreciated the opportunity to attain certified training, saying “It gave me more skills and made me more interested in working in the store. It showed me different ways of doing things.”

Kaitlyn Ahfat in front of the new mural painted on Nauiyu Store, Daly River

Kaitlyn has great communication skills and is an invaluable employee. She has a lot to offer, and we hope she will gain the confidence to take on more responsibilities within Outback Stores.

– Robert Niven

She enjoys all aspects of working at the store, particularly the company of the other staff members and the chance to talk to different people each day. She is particularly attentive to the fresh fruit and vegetable displays and making sure they look their best.

“Kaitlyn has great communication skills and is an invaluable employee. She has a lot to offer, and we hope she will gain the confidence to take on more responsibilities within Outback Stores,” says Robert Niven, co-manager of Nauiyu Store.

She works at least five days a week and on her free weekends enjoys relaxing in front of Netflix or fishing for black bream, which she cooks on the coals.

Kaitlyn recently got her learner drivers licence, and she is saving to buy a car. She is now studying a Certificate IV in Business through Alana Kaye College and hopes to manage the store herself one day, when her daughter is a little older.

This story features in the Outback Stores Annual Report 2021-22

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