Officeworks buys 21 per cent stake in the World’s Biggest Garage Sale

A pioneering Brisbane furniture collection and repair business owner has sold a 21 per cent stake in her social enterprise to Officeworks, with the mega chain planning to expand the concept nationally.

Yasmin Grigaliunas at the World’s Biggest Garage Sale warehouse at Morningside.

Australia’s largest supplier of office and stationery products has acquired a stake in a pioneering Brisbane furniture collection and repair business with the aim to expand the model across the nation,

Officeworks has secured 21 per cent in the World’s Biggest Garage Sale (WBGS) as part of the company’s response to changing customer needs and its ongoing commitment to sustainability.

A subsidiary of ASX-listed giant Wesfarmer, Officeworks plans to expand WBGS into a national recovery and repair service under a new brand called Circonomy.

This will ultimately see the existing collection and repair service grow beyond furniture and office supplies, to products across the broader retail industry.

WBGS started as an annual garage sale in 2013 by founder and chief executive Yasmin Grigaliunas who launched the business in 2017 which has now grown to a multimillion-dollar social enterprise.

She said with the annual amount of retail repairs and returns at only 10 per cent of total Australian stock the Officeworks investment was a “big opportunity”.

“It will allow us to bed down in NSW and Victoria, which is ultimately part of our expansion strategy,’ said Ms Grigaliunas who is the major shareholder of the company.

Yasmin Grigaliunas at the World’s Biggest Garage Sale warehouse at Morningside.

She would not be drawn on the specifics of the deal but said the partnership will allow Circonomy to respond to changing consumer needs.

“We know that consumers want to see a more sustainable retail industry, including the reuse and repair of everyday products, rather than their disposal into the waste stream,” Ms Grigaliunas said.

“Our partnership with Officeworks will allow us to broaden our service offering

both geographically and in the products we can repair, and will provide a model for other businesses to follow our lead.”

Officeworks said Circonomy will create a national network of circular economy precincts that will cater for both businesses and consumers.

These centres will advocate for conscious consumerism through the resale of dormant or second-hand goods and will also provide Officeworks and other retailers with responsible waste management practices for its products.

Officeworks managing director Sarah Hunter said the investment in WBGS demonstrated the environmental, social and financial opportunities associated with a more circular economy.

“Over the last three years, we have partnered with WBGS to help us achieve our vision of contributing to a more circular economy and becoming a zero-waste business,” she said.

“Together we have demonstrated a feasible model to collect, repair, repurpose and resell damaged or customer returned products. We’re excited to replicate and scale this model across Australia.

“We believe that, in time, this can be a solution that is much more widely adopted across the retail sector as a way to divert waste from landfill, extend product life cycles, and ultimately build domestic repair and remanufacturing capability.”