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.
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
