making history, creating culture

1535 1025 In Good Company | Northern Rivers
spar logo

Spar Supermarket

4 River St, Maclean

www.sparmaclean.com.au

Visit Clarence Valley Northern Rivers-01
making history, creating culture

SPAR Maclean’s claim to fame is a doozy. Indeed, it’s something only one supermarket in the whole of Australia can say: that it is the longest continually running grocery store in the nation.

“The business has been trading since 1883, when it was called the Argyle Store,” says Bob Little, who co-owns the store with his wife Judith, “and we have been running it since 1980.”

SPAR Maclean’s history may be long and storied, but Bob and his team are firmly living in the present, with a number of recent prestigious awards testament to the vital role the store plays in the small Maclean community, as well as its peerless standards of quality.

2017 was a stellar year. Not only was the store named Clarence Valley Business of the Year, it was also named SPAR Store of the Year at the SPAR Australia Retail Excellence Awards, and won the Fresh Food Department Award for the fourth year running at the same event.

“The business has been trading since 1883”

Bob, however, is quick to deflect the praise and attention to the store’s staff, which numbers 36 full-time employees aged between 15 and 65.

“These awards are for my staff and their focus on customer service,” he says. “We look after them like they would look after themselves, and they are the loyalest staff in any business I know. They are SPAR Maclean.”

Such triumphant success might have seemed unlikely to Bob back in 1984 when family members wanted to abandon the business and his bank manager told him he wouldn’t even lend him $10.

He quickly learned the ropes of retail to change the bank manager’s mind, by taking a business management course and enlisting the help of the SPAR group.

And all that hard work has resulted in SPAR Maclean’s standard-setting status today – that and taking advantage of the “endlessly accommodating and friendly” local community.

“I have always found Northern Rivers people, including business people, to be very supportive of local business,” says Bob, “especially if a business involves itself in the community.”

And SPAR Maclean certainly does that.

spar maclean

“Success for me is being in a position where I can give support to others, such as providing employment to the local community.”

Share this story

Read more stories
Evans Head Cabinetry 001

carefully crafted business success

 2000 1041 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Evans Head Cabinet Making
“People often say, ‘They don’t build things like they used to’,” says fine furniture and cabinet maker Justin Crisp. “But I can confidently say…”

Hovering across the wave of success

 1139 749 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Fliteboard
It was meant to be an extended break for David Trewern and his family. A chance to rest and reset in Byron Bay after decades of building and selling fast-growing digital marketing agencies. But as he looked out over Belongil beach in 2014, an idea struck him.

Keeping it real in the Tweed

 1706 2560 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Tweed Real Food
Tweed Real Food is a business launched in 2018 from a desire to be resilient. Little did founder Julia Foyster know how prescient her plan would turn out to be.

Flexing the entrepreneurial muscle

 2560 1707 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Summit Sport & Fitness
Like many Northern Rivers businesses, Summit Sport & Fitness has undergone immense change in 2022 – except, rather than being buffeted by floods or pandemic, these changes are positive, and mark a new chapter for owner Matthew George.

Generational innovation

 1440 1080 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Australian Bay Lobster Producers
Thenus australiensis. Moreton Bay bugs. The Bay Lobster. Whatever nomenclature you want to use, there is no doubt that these crustaceans are a much-loved staple of Australian seafood menus.

herb blanchard haulage

in for the long haul

 1024 682 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Herb Blanchard Haulage
If you happen to be in the ‘jacaranda city’ of Grafton or its surrounds and you see a big blue truck out on the roads, the chances are its part of the…

You can judge a book by its cover

 1440 2560 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Charlie & Fox
When Jess Tunnage’s mother-in-law gave her a sewing machine for Christmas a few years ago, she had no idea how to use it.

gateway finefoods kyogle

local, seasonal, transformative gem hits town

 960 639 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Gateway Fine Foods and Catering
Debbie McQueen has three words of advice for anyone starting a business in Kyogle: flexibility, perseverance and patience. They’re three traits Debbie…

rod n reel woodburn nortrhern rivers

reinventing a special highway town

 1920 1080 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Rod n Reel Hotel
Woodburn NSW is a charming riverside town with which is about to embark on a transformation. When the Pacific Highway bypass is completed…

mara_seeds_northern_rivers_business_feature_image_001

organic, sustainable and a local legend

 800 800 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Mara Seeds
The farmer and owner of Mara Seeds knows what can happen when you don’t – his 8000-acre station 50km to the west of Casino has seen worse…

mountain blue 001 copy

true blue locals making a difference

 1920 1280 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Mountain Blue
Mountain Blue is the definition of a twenty-first century business. Not only have owners Ridley and Mieke Bell expanded their blueberry production…

A community cornerstone bouncing forward

 2048 1260 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Coraki Post Office
For all that has been thrown at the small town of Coraki in recent times, the owners of the town’s post office are rolling with the punches.

Alternative. Accessible. Affordable.

 2560 2553 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Nimbin Apothecary
Nimbin Apothecary is a herbal medicine dispensary providing acute over-the-counter consulting for herbal medicine prescriptions.

Spoiled stays for special pets

 2560 1600 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Skye Park Pet Resort
In 2014, a long-held aspiration finally came to fruition for Helen and Ian MacGregor when they purchased an existing pet boarding facility in bucolic Clarenza, with the dream of making it their own.

lights, camera, action in ballina shire

 2560 1750 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Byron Studios
Northern Rivers has long been a hub for film makers and a popular backdrop for film and television productions. But there has been one thing missing to tie it all together…

Clean green superfood team

 768 1024 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Foods That Love You Back
Health activist Erle Astrup founded Foods That Love You Back in January 2021, and her business – which has created the world’s first affordable, alkaline shot of concentrated microgreens – is infused with the passion she has for driving it.

harwood marine clarence

‘can do’ marine

 1920 1182 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Harwood Marine
About half way between Yamba and Maclean is the tiny village of Harwood, which sits on the peaceful banks of the Clarence River with its population…

crowd pleasing innovation creates a buzz

 1210 864 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

BeeInventive
It’s difficult to know where to start with the remarkable story of BeeInventive. Perhaps in the humble shed in Byron Shire bushland…

grafton to yamba houseboats clarence

take me to the river

 2048 1536 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Grafton to Yamba Houseboats
The Clarence River, at the southern end of the Northern Rivers, is known colloquially as the ‘Big River’, while its Aboriginal name is ‘Breimbah’ or…

an epic adventure into healing honey

 1191 893 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Gather By
Gather By is a closed-loop regenerative agribusiness that works with beekeepers and landholders in NSW and Queensland, and investors around Australia to produce and market rare, pure and potent Australian Manuka honey…

Start Typing

X