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IGA supermarket at Blackburn North Shopping Centre to close

A much-loved supermarket in Melbourne’s east has announced it will shut next month after serving the community for more than 20 years.

                        <i>Whitehorse Leader</i> believes Coles is likely to replace the IGA.
Whitehorse Leader believes Coles is likely to replace the IGA.

The popular IGA supermarket at Blackburn North Shopping Centre will close next month after more than 20 years serving the community.

The store — one of the largest IGA supermarkets in the state — ceases trading on January 31 as part of the centre’s redevelopment, leaving 60 staff out of work.

The centre is owned by Australian Unity, which is in negotiations with Whitehorse Council about a $40 million revamp to start early next year.

Whitehorse Leader believes Coles is in the running to take IGA’s place at the upgraded centre.

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Australian Unity fund manager Nikki Panagopolus said discussions between centre management and IGA had been underway for a long time before the mutual decision to close the supermarket was reached.

“We’re grateful to IGA for its contribution to the local community,” Ms Panagopolus said.

North Blackburn Shopping Centre is going to get a massive upgrade next year. Picture: Janine eastgate
North Blackburn Shopping Centre is going to get a massive upgrade next year. Picture: Janine eastgate

A staff member at the store, who did not want to be named, said they were told this month the store was going to shut.

The employee said the IGA was “a fairly busy store” but probably only sold half as much as the centre’s other supermarket, Woolworths.

While many IGAs are independently owned, the Blackburn North IGA is owned by Metcash.

A Metcash spokesman, who did not want to be named, said the decision to close was because of the “commercial viability of the store” when looking at “the bigger picture”.

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IGA staff will be able to look for other jobs within Metcash.

serena.seyfort@news.com.au

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Original URL: https://www.heraldsun.com.au/leader/east/iga-supermarket-at-blackburn-north-shopping-centre-to-close/news-story/21be15588c8fe95f0e4e662970db55d3