Geddes family sells Holbrook IGA to new owners after 30 years

Roger Geddes, a Holbrook resident, had been involved with the IGA since 1962 and a majority shareholder since 1991.

When he died five years ago in 2016, his son Tony and wife Margaret continued running the store, but after Mrs Geddes had a stroke about 18 months ago, they decided it was time to pass on the business.

"There's an element of sadness, but really that sort of started with Dad dying, he was the main man here," Mr Geddes said.

"It was his baby.

"We thought we might try to run it long term and in time decided that no, someone else is going to do a better job for the town than us.

Nick Cook and Mick Dare took over the store at the end of last month and came to the business with experience owning six other small chain supermarkets in North East Victoria.

Mr Cook said the pair would be looking to upgrade the store in the future.

"What we try to achieve, is that locals shop locally," Mr Cook said.

"In order to do that we know that we've got to give competitive prices, great service and a great range.

"Now that Holbrook is a part of that small group of stores, we will be able to offer much more competitive prices than has been the case historically."

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Mr Geddes said it was nice to know the store would continue to be an IGA.

"It's exciting to see the store go to someone who can take it to the next level," he said.

"The town needs the IGA so it was important to find someone who was going to run a good store."

Mr Cook said the Geddes family had left a big legacy to fill.

"They're certainly an imminent family with the community so we'd like to thank them for being custodians of what is a very historic part of he town," he said.

"We hope we can take that baton, keep it moving forward and secure the future of the store for a long time to come."

Mr Cook said all staff members had been kept on and he hoped to help the town's young people find their first job.

"If you look at towns like Holbrook and the many other towns that we operate within, the local supermarket is really the heart and soul of these towns," he said.

"The more we can encourage people to shop locally, the more we can invest back into the community."

Mr Geddes said his father would approve of Mr Dare and Mr Cook as owners.

"I think he'd be happy about it," he said.

Mr Geddes said he will return to farming.

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