Sydney’s seafood specialists
Y
The original Poulos Brothers, Denis and Con
If you’ve had the pleasure of sitting down for a special seafood meal in Sydney, Brisbane or Melbourne in the past 50 years, there’s a good chance you have Poulos Bros to thank for the fish.
Whether you’re sharing a salty box of fish and chips watching the waves roll in or shucking a dozen juicy oysters at a waterfront restaurant, for most Australians, seafood is synonymous with happy memories.
So it’s little wonder that Peter Poulos, Group Operations Manager at Poulos Bros, takes a lot of pride in leading one of Australia’s largest seafood distributors. “We cater for everyone, from fine dining restaurants to the humble fish shop cafe,” says Peter, second generation business owner. “We are well known in the industry as reliable and honest – we communicate clearly with our customers and always provide good service.”
Brothers Con and Denis Poulos started the business in the mid-1960s, quickly developing a reputation for superior service that continues today. “They had a fish shop in Bridgepoint and started doing some wholesale from the lane out the back,” Peter says. “In 1967 they decided to get out of retail, buy a premises in Mosman and start distribution.”
Peter’s father Denis passed away in 2008, but his uncle Con Poulos, 89, is still actively involved in the business along with the next generation, including Peter, his two brothers and four cousins. “We have more than 100 staff and quite a few of them have been here longer than me,” Peter says. “That speaks volumes for how much we care about our staff – they are so important and honestly, like part of the family. Same goes with the suppliers – we have a special relationship with them; they’re so important to us.”
Australia’s appetite for seafood has changed a lot since the ‘60s. Back then, a piece of fried flake wrapped in newspaper was the mark of a special occasion, but now Poulos Bros deliver to everyone from takeaway shops to hatted restaurants up and down Australia’s east coast.
“I learnt great values from my parents – we saw what our fathers went through to provide for us,” Peter recalls. “They migrated from Greece with nothing and worked hard to build this business. We had a lot of respect for them and followed their footsteps, working really hard.”
Poulos Bros-erly love
John is a proud – and beloved! – Poulos Bros team member
A culture of adaptability has also enabled them to change with the times. “Back in the early days you virtually sold everything out of the back of the truck,” Peter recalls. “You had an idea of what customers want and you’d drive by and say, ‘I’ve got this, this or this’, then you’d write the invoice and move on. Now there’s not as many phone calls – orders come in via email and apps. Everything is pre-sold and done by computer; it’s barcoded and scanned.”
But while technology and tastes have evolved, Poulos Bros’ old-fashioned service foundations remain the same. “We’re always available at any given time,” Peter says. “If it’s after hours on a Sunday, if a customer calls us and needs a helping hand, it’s nothing for us. We care about our customers, more than they might realise!”
That care for community was perhaps never better demonstrated than in May 2020 when [social distanced] lines snaked from their Pyrmont HQ, as they quietly gave out thousands of free fish meals to out-of-work hospitality workers during the COVID pandemic.
“They have always had the best service over everyone, so it doesn’t come as a surprise to me for them to be doing something so generous,” Poulos Bros customer and celebrity chef Lauren Murdoch told radio station 2GB at the time. “It’s a really small thing but it means so much.”
Since joining Countrywide in 1999, Peter and his colleagues have relished getting to know other like-minded business owners. “It’s fantastic getting access to deals and buying power in the marketplace, to keep you competitive,” he says. “We share information about technology, and hear about what other members are going through. It’s always interesting to hear what running a business is like for regional people – a mechanic might be half an hour away and it takes an hour to change a tyre, and travel hundreds of kilometres for their first delivery! It gives us city folk a bit of a reality check.”
Of course, city operations don’t come without their own challenges. “Sydney’s a big place and delivering in Sydney is very expensive,” Peter says. “Our challenge is to strive to make sure we have stock on hand. We have to have that foresight, and if market conditions change a little, we try to hold the price.”
Serving the Sydney Fish Markets since the 1960s.
Poulos Bros Group Operations Manager