‘Find a better day’: Drakes Supermarket boss stuns with Australia Day call

The director of a major supermarket chain who has vowed to sell Australia Day merchandise has made a surprising call on changing the date.

The director of a major supermarket chain has doubled down on his decision to sell Australia Day merchandise as a matter of consumer “choice” while revealing he isn’t opposed to changing the date.

John-Paul Drake, Director of Drakes Supermarkets, took aim at Woolworths and Aldi in a social media post this week.

The independent grocery retailer, which has 66 stores in South Australia and Queensland, sparked controversy with its Australia Day catalogue.

The catalogue included a page dedicated to “Australia Day ingredients” including car flags, themed bunting and napkins, as well as discounted party pies.

Mr Drake said his objection to “wokeworths” was about “choice”.

“Whether you choose to celebrate Australia Day or not is totally up to you,” he wrote in an Instagram post, which has sparked hundreds of mostly supportive comments.

“As a retailer, it’s my responsibility to let my customers choose if a product is suitable for them.

“But until that date is changed, I will choose to gather with my friends and family and celebrate how bloody lucky we are that we live in a country where we can choose to have these kinds of debates.”

Mr Drake’s social media post about the debate around selling Australia Day merchandise.

He it was ‘OK’ for people to disagree.

Forecasting opposition to his move, Mr Drake added: “that’s OK”.

“Some of you may choose to boycott our stores – and I respect your right to choose where you spend your money,” he says.

“I do ask, however, that you respect my team if you do enter our stores.

“They do not deserve to cop abuse for my values.”

Drakes catalogue of ‘ingredients for Australia Day’.

Speaking to Sunrise on Tuesday morning, Drake was asked what prompted the seemingly inflammatory post.

“Everyone’s had a bit of enough of being told what to do,” he responded.

“We should live in this beautiful country, and when we live here, it’s fair to say we should be able to choose what we buy.”

Mr Drake added: “When people get told they can’t have these things because they don’t sell much of it is an interesting concept.

“If you don’t like Valentine’s Day, don’t buy Valentine’s Day cards; if you don’t like gluten-free products, don’t buy them, just walk past them.”

Drake open to changing the date, despite merch stance

Sunrise host Natalie Barr asked about the public response to Drake’s move, which made national headlines on Monday.

Mr Drake said it had been “98 per cent positive”, and had resulted in a rush of sales.

“A couple of people aren’t happy, but I could post a picture of my dog, and someone would complain about it,” he said.

“We’ll definitely sell out of our merchandise, sorry for people who haven’t got in quick enough to be able to (buy) Australian flags or some good Australian thongs, stubby holders, you name it.

“We did have it, but it sold extremely fast. Thank you, Woolies.”

Barr pressed Mr Drake on his responsibility as a supermarket director, asking: “As a boss, do you think it’s your role to lead a discussion on these issues? Or just sell stuff?”

“I think people shouldn’t be afraid to be able to speak their mind,” he responded, hinting he was not opposed to another date for the increasingly divisive national day.

Mr Drake revealed he was open to a new date. Picture Dean Martin

“We just need to pull together as a country and come up with a date so we can celebrate this beautiful country of ours,” he added.

“I think it’s going to take a lot of level-headedness, a lot of egos out the door and start with a blank sheet to try and find a day that the majority of Australians are happy with so we’re not offending any other people along the way - we all want that.

Barr agreed, stating: “We’ve got to stop tiptoeing around it and find a way to celebrate where everyone is happy somehow in this country so we don’t get in the leadup to Australia Day all dark and think, ‘Oh, no, we have to go through this again.’”

Woolworths surprised the nation last week when it confirmed it would no longer be selling Australia Day merchandise ahead of the public holiday with Big W and Aldi following suit.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton was quick off the mark to demand shoppers boycott the supermarket giant of its decision, which Woolworths says was made due to a “gradual decline” in sales.

Coles confirmed it would continue to stock a range of Australia-themed merchandise in the lead-up to the day.

However, multiple stores appear to be selling only a small amount of the stock.