Community & Business
29 November, 2023
Anniversary celebration with a bonus
They say time flies when you’re having fun - and that’s certainly been the case for the owners of Pittsworth’s IGA - Shane and Tracy Smith.
They’ll be celebrating the tenth anniversary of their time in the supermarket this Friday (1st December).
Shane and Tracy Smith along with their children, Andrew and Jess, have created a growing business, even to the extent of spilling into a neighbouring town, which they did a couple of years ago when the Smiths re-opened a supermarket at Westbrook.
In that two years the Local Grocer IGA at Westbrook has also grown immensely.
At Pittsworth, the number of members of the IGA Rewards program is still growing and it’s paying off for locals - in fact, during Friday’s tenth birthday celebrations, one local customer will be receiving
a $12,000 IGA Gift Card.
She won it as part of the “Win 1 of 4 $12000 IGA Gift Card Prizes” promotion across IGA stores.
“With the support of our IGA Rewards program, each quarter there are major prizes that are drawn randomly to customers who use their cards,” Shane Smith explained.
“One of our customers was the winner of the 1 in 4 $12000 IGA Gift Cards.
“During the four week promotion there were 20 winners each week who won a $200 Card.
“In the first three weeks we had two winners of a $200 card at Pittsworth and one at Westbrook.
“One of our customers was the winner of the 1 in 4 $12,000 IGA Gift Cards.
“This means that this customer will receive from us a $1000 IGA gift card every month from now for the next 12 months.
“How cool is that…!”
However, everyone who shops at IGA will be a winner come Friday because the store is turning on a
great celebration event which will include a birthday cake, demonstrations and of course, plenty of specials.
“We want to thank all our customers for their support over the last ten years,” Shane said.
The store itself is 16 years old, having opened on 24th October, 2006, when it was owned by John and Mary Gentle, who still live in Pittsworth.
One of the staff members, Christine French, has been at IGA since it opened, while three others, Julieann Williams, Madonna Dunshea and Emily Gray, have been at the supermarket for the whole ten years that
it has been operated by Tracy and Shane Smith.
The local IGA has also been extremely beneficial for local organisations.
Over the last ten years in excess of $100,000 has been distributed locally through the IGA Community Chest program.
“We’ll continue to support as many organisations as we can,” Shane said.
(As a point of interest, there are four generatyions of the Smiths now living in Pittsworth. In addition to the two generations at the supermarket, Shane’s parents have moved to the town and Andrew and his wife have three children of their own!)
