Whites IGA grows from Maroochydore convenience store to 400 employees

Whites IGA has grown from a small convenience store in Maroochydore to a business that employs 400 employees across the Sunshine Coast. Here is how they did it.

Michael and Roz White at the official opening of the $33 million Stockland Baringa town shopping centre. Picture: Patrick Woods

Michael and Roz White were transferred in their banking job on the same day to the same branch on the Sunshine Coast back in 1992.

“The minute I met Michael I knew there was no one else for me,” Mrs White said.

“Our backgrounds were eerily similar.

“We both grew up in the bush and we both worked in banks, we both got transferred here at the same time and we both felt the same way about pretty much everything.”

A year later the pair made the gutsy move to buy a small convenience store at Maroochydore.

Roz White of IGA with Sonia Goodwin, Dr Nova Evans and Chris Sell at The Dock in Mooloolaba. Picture: Patrick Woods

“We had about 25 cents to rub together and so Michael worked the store and I worked at the bank still,” Mrs White said.

“We always wanted to be in the food services arena because, coming from the bush, we have such a deep appreciation for our primary producers and where our food comes from.”

These days, Whites IGA is a household name on the Sunshine Coast, with the family owning and running a handful of stores across the region.

The Whites are well known for giving local brands “a fair go” by stocking new products on their shelves and promoting them to locals.

But it works both ways as far as Mrs White is concerned.

“Helping other businesses get off the ground by stocking their products is something that makes our heart sing,” she said.

“If you can help someone, you do it, and what we love about the Sunshine Coast is how collaborative the community is.

“People genuinely look after each other here, they look out for each other, they lift each other up – there’s a beautiful energy about this place that makes it second to none.”

She said the Whites IGA Group was committed to sourcing locally-grown and produced products and providing employment for the local community while supporting local organisations and charities.

“We bought our first store in Maroochydore because we never wanted to leave the Sunshine Coast,” Mrs White said.

“Putting down roots here in business was our way of saying we were never going anywhere else; this is the place we want to be for good.

“We are proud to be local, live local and support local – it’s our motto.”

The Sunshine Coast Daily will launch the Daily Incubator on August 27 in its first weekly print edition. The exciting, new initiative aims to showcase the best of business and attract investment to the region.