Last week the Hastings Co-operative officially exchanged contracts with Ritchie’s IGA for them to acquire their four Co-op supermarkets and three liquor stores: Timbertown, Wauchope, Sovereign Place and Port Macquarie IGA’s.
The completion of this sale, and the transfer of ownership of the supermarkets, is anticipated to occur in March this year, with supermarkets transferring one a week, in the following order, Port Macquarie (3rd of March), Timbertown (10th of March), Wauchope (17th of March) and Sovereign Place (24th of March).
The signing of the contract is the culmination of a significant amount of work which commenced in earnest after the members special resolution to sell the supermarkets on the 25th of October 2024, and we would like to acknowledge the efforts and resilience of our Hastings Co-op Directors, management, and our full Co-op team.
While it is with mixed feelings that we make this announcement, it is, nonetheless, an important step to achieving financial stability for the Hastings Co-op and putting us into a position where we can invest in our remaining assets and businesses and move forward in a new direction for the benefit of our members and community.
Ritchie’s IGA are a truly national brand with 80 stores across Victoria, NSW, and Queensland.
With their buying power and capacity to grow and invest Ritchie’s IGA will be able to bring better value at the checkout for our members and community and will be able to capably support our team to deliver excellent product and service.
Most importantly Ritchie’s have committed to the continued employment of all the Hastings Co-op IGA supermarket staff and keeping our business relationship working with Lord Howe Island.
As always, we welcome your feedback or questions at this emailinfo@hastingscoop.com.au