Generations of good food
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Born for business
Having the opportunity to genuinely improve customers’ foodservice experiences was one reason Phil Gumley wanted to follow in his parents’ footsteps into business ownership. “My parents had Tasmania’s first supermarket on Elizabeth Street, Hobart, in the late 1950s,” Phil says. “When I was very young, I used to work in the supermarket, stacking shelves just like you see today. I remember helping out with home deliveries, sitting on an apple box beside the driver. We delivered to houses all around Hobart.
The business, Rounds Supermarket, was started by Phil’s grandfather. “The business was later modernised to become a supermarket, complete with aisles and cash registers, just like today.” He says. “Our major competitor in those days was a Woolworths supermarket in the centre of Hobart. As time went on, the supermarket was sold and our family got involved in the distribution of products in Southern Tasmania.
Round's Supermarket on Elizabeth St, Hobart - founded by the Gumley family and remembered as one of Tasmania's supermarket pioneers.
The Mercury 16-05-1988: Safcol staff taking time off for the camera. From left, "Snowy" Conde, Greg Taylor, David Jones, Lenna Grainger, manager Phillip Gumley, Cheryl Holland, Tanya Fisher, sales manager Ray McGuiness, Tony Beechey, Robert Sinclair, Steven Gillies, Chris Gossence, Chris Howell and John Lowe.
After marrying Julie, Phil kept working in the family business, until it was sold. Phil saw a chance to engage with Tasmania’s excellent seafood industry after being offered the opportunity to start a foodservice business for Safcol in Tasmania. “We sold fresh scallops, trevalla, and orange roughy, then expanded into frozen and dried products,” he recalls.
After four years of rapid expansion, Safcol Australia exited foodservice operations nationally. Phil and Julie then offered to buy the business from Safcol, and after a competitive tender process, they took over Safcol and launched Southern Foodservice in 1989.
“At that time, we were very close to two other businesses in Northern Tasmania, one of which was Bruce Frith from Tas Fresh. We had already built a solid relationship, and even in the ‘80s, we were buying containers of stock together.” Phil recalls. “We had established our own buying group called TIFD, which quickly became one of the founding members of Countrywide when Kevin Rose approached us to join their Melbourne and Sydney groups.”
This was a great success. “Back in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, family foodservice businesses were starting to face stiff competition from national players.” Phil says.
Family first
Southern Foodservice has been built and run by the family of Phil and Julie. Their family has all worked in the business at some stage, whether in the cash and carry during weekends, through their daughter’s consulting businesses, or in many meetings over the years where they discussed the direction of the business. “They have been an integral part of the success of Southern Foodservice. Kate, our daughter, has helped with the finance side of the business, and her husband Jamie, has taken on the role of General Manager for Southern Foodservice.” Phil says.
The internet, online ordering, and artificial intelligence have transformed operations since Southern Foodservice’s inception. Still, Phil says many aspects of foodservice remain the same today as they were in the 1980s. “The purpose of the business – to service the customer – hasn’t changed that much, really,” Phil says. “It’s all about relationships with the customer and the supplier. We make sure we always have a relationship with our customers, they’re not just a number, which I think is what they get with the corporate distributors.”
The early premises of Southern Foodservice selling to wholesale and general public.
Keeping the business lean and true to its values has put Southern Foodservice in good stead. There have been tough times over many years but by maintaining relationships, we have built a strong business” Phil says. “We aren’t he biggest, but a family business with a good reputation that can maintain solid customer contracts with Tasmanian firms and nationally, across all areas of the company.”
Innovation has been vital for staying competitive. “It’s essential to keep pushing forward every day,” says General Manager Jamie McLoughlin, “We’ve expanded into fresh fruit and vegetables, capitalising on the fantastic produce grown in Tasmania. With the family business model, we can be nimble – and our customers appreciate that.”
Southern Foodservice Countrywide Foodmarket site at Glenorchy in 1996.
One of the Southern Foodservice fleet of trucks parked along Hobart's Derwent River.
More than anything, Southern Foodservice takes pride in maintaining a deep sense of empathy for its customers.
“We get to know our customers and their concerns,” Jamie says. “We understand how hard it is to run a business and put yourself out there, and that our decisions impact their families, and they appreciate that.”
Southern Foodservice, has been supplying Hobart’s iconic Mures restaurant with gourmet products for nearly 40 years. “Mures is one of the largest and most well-known restaurants in Tasmania, and we’re proud to supply their food products, including our range of fresh fruit and vegetables. Our association with their wonderful business spans more than 40 years. We are both family businesses, not corporate entities – we’re really value our close relationship”. Phil says.
Southern Foodservice Director
