Petrol Station Owners

[SRW]

To say they're 'fishing' is a bit bold. You don't pursue something over years and at great expesnse without some cause. And given the many recent examples of wage theft in the hospitality industry, it stands to reason that this industry with a similar profile of vulnerable workers would be experiencing some level of exploitation.

[SBD]

To say they're 'fishing' is a bit bold. You don't pursue something over years and at great expesnse without some cause. And given the many recent examples of wage theft in the hospitality industry, it stands to reason that this industry with a similar profile of vulnerable workers would be experiencing some level of exploitation.

I have recently seen adverts in online games inviting me to join the OTR class action. Adero Law is currently "accepting registrations of interest" for class actions against Romeo's, Drakes, Mantle Hospitality and Target. It lists 12 current filed class actions including OTR, Woolworths and Coles.

These lawyers appear to be only one step above "ambulance chasing" to me.
https://www.aderolaw.com.au/class-actions/

[SRW]

To say they're 'fishing' is a bit bold. You don't pursue something over years and at great expense without some cause. And given the many recent examples of wage theft in the hospitality industry, it stands to reason that this industry with a similar profile of vulnerable workers would be experiencing some level of exploitation.

I have recently seen adverts in online games inviting me to join the OTR class action. Adero Law is currently "accepting registrations of interest" for class actions against Romeo's, Drakes, Mantle Hospitality and Target. It lists 12 current filed class actions including OTR, Woolworths and Coles.

These lawyers appear to be only one step above "ambulance chasing" to me.
https://www.aderolaw.com.au/class-actions/

Whether chasing an ambulance or not, I would say the likelihood of there being substance to the 'accident' is high: these service-based industries have marginalised workers to the point that wage (and entitlement) theft is widespread.

[SBD]

To say they're 'fishing' is a bit bold. You don't pursue something over years and at great expense without some cause. And given the many recent examples of wage theft in the hospitality industry, it stands to reason that this industry with a similar profile of vulnerable workers would be experiencing some level of exploitation.

I have recently seen adverts in online games inviting me to join the OTR class action. Adero Law is currently "accepting registrations of interest" for class actions against Romeo's, Drakes, Mantle Hospitality and Target. It lists 12 current filed class actions including OTR, Woolworths and Coles.

These lawyers appear to be only one step above "ambulance chasing" to me.
https://www.aderolaw.com.au/class-actions/

Whether chasing an ambulance or not, I would say the likelihood of there being substance to the 'accident' is high: these service-based industries have marginalised workers to the point that wage (and entitlement) theft is widespread.

I have no first-hand experience of working for any of these companies or their industries. I have friends and relatives who did or do work for some of the other companies in the lawyer's list, but not for OTR. As such, I have no proof whether or not illegal behaviour is widespread and systemic or not. I think the legal firm's conduct is probably legal as well. That doesn't necessarily mean I like it.

[ChillyPhilly]

Adero, the law firm in question, won the recent court decision regarding long-term casuals being entitled to paid leave and other entitlements.

[rev]

I wouldn't call it ambulance chasing.

What they're doing is putting the word out to ensure as many people that have been affected know about the class action so that they can get on board and win back what's owed to them.

Believe it or not, not everyone is in the loop of whats going on, and not everyone knows where to chase up information. So putting the word out by advertising overcomes that.

[SBD]

Are chains of "independent" family-owned fuel outlets unique to the South Australian economy, or do other states have them too? I'm thinking of chains like

• OTR (Shahin family) - 145
• X Convenience (Kosmidis) - 20 plus a new one at Nuriootpa
• AM/PM (Agostino) - 19

We seem to do the same thing in supermarkets much more than other states (Drakes, Romeo, Chapley, Klose)

[SRW]

Are chains of "independent" family-owned fuel outlets unique to the South Australian economy, or do other states have them too? I'm thinking of chains like

• OTR (Shahin family) - 145
• X Convenience (Kosmidis) - 20 plus a new one at Nuriootpa
• AM/PM (Agostino) - 19

We seem to do the same thing in supermarkets much more than other states (Drakes, Romeo, Chapley, Klose)

Other states have them too, but SA seems unique in terms of the proportion of the market they capture.

I remember once being told that debuting national/international retailers see SA as a bit of test market and good for proof of concept. If you can do well here, you're a shoo-in everywhere else.

But then again, I'm not sure how many SA brands expand out of state. Fast food outlets seem the most successful at doing that (Boost, Wendy's, Bing Boy etc).

[SBD]

Are chains of "independent" family-owned fuel outlets unique to the South Australian economy, or do other states have them too? I'm thinking of chains like

• OTR (Shahin family) - 145
• X Convenience (Kosmidis) - 20 plus a new one at Nuriootpa
• AM/PM (Agostino) - 19

We seem to do the same thing in supermarkets much more than other states (Drakes, Romeo, Chapley, Klose)

Other states have them too, but SA seems unique in terms of the proportion of the market they capture.

I remember once being told that debuting national/international retailers see SA as a bit of test market and good for proof of concept. If you can do well here, you're a shoo-in everywhere else.

But then again, I'm not sure how many SA brands expand out of state. Fast food outlets seem the most successful at doing that (Boost, Wendy's, Bing Boy etc).

I guess in a market segment that values "local" (we don't drive into the city or premium suburb to buy fuel or groceries from "the" shop), there is no need to expand interstate until the home market is saturated. I think all of the chains I named have a "family owned and operated" business model, not a franchise, and they are privately held not public companies. In fact they are the franchisee of brands like BP and Foodland/IGA. United apparently also started in SA and has expanded interstate and moved to Victoria, with ownership of four import terminals (but not in SA). Liberty seems to be a franchise model, owned by Viva Energy (listed in Australia).

[Jaymz]

With regards to supermarket brands like IGA/Foodland/Drakes etc. I think it gets a bit confusing. Maybe the outlets are independently owned and some families might own multiple outlets. But they are also supplied by a conglomerate called Metcash, which is the fourth largest grocery brand after Woolworths, Coles and until recently, Aldi. So in concept, they are kinda just franchisees to a corporate enterprise. Perhaps some of those outlets are still fully independent, i'm not 100% sure? I'm sure someone in here is more in the know than myself.

[Norman]

I believe Drakes is now fully independent and have their own distribution network and distribution centre in the northern suburbs. Romeo's has also now expanded to Sydney with a few stores, branded as Romeo's IGA.

[SBD]

I believe Drakes is now fully independent and have their own distribution network and distribution centre in the northern suburbs. Romeo's has also now expanded to Sydney with a few stores, branded as Romeo's IGA.

Drakes separated from Foodland last year. It has had its own cold warehouse (near Beverley?) for some years, and opened its dry good warehouse at Edinburgh North last year when it removed all Foodland branding. The shops are all directly owned by Roger Drake (or his family).

The others I named are branded as Foodland or IGA, so are franchisees of brands owned by Metcash, but they are multi-store family-owned chains in their own right. There are also other smaller franchises of Foodland or IGA. Eudunda Farmers still exists as an entity with a number of Foodland outlets (eg Tanunda), and Nuriootpa Foodland is owned by the Barossa Co-op.

[Ozemate]

A new X Convenience service station is now under construction on the corner of Hamilton Tce and Gorge Rd, Newton, opposite Thorndon Park.
This will put it on a collision course between two existing rival OTR outlets at Newton and Athelstone, both on Gorge Rd and start a much-needed Fuel Price war in the area

[Eurostar]

A new X Convenience service station is now under construction on the corner of Hamilton Tce and Gorge Rd, Newton, opposite Thorndon Park.
This will put it on a collision course between two existing rival OTR outlets at Newton and Athelstone, both on Gorge Rd and start a much-needed Fuel Price war in the area

Looks like X Convenience is not far from opening their new store at Eyre. And the store at Elizabeth Downs is getting expanded.

[Brucetiki]

I believe Drakes is now fully independent and have their own distribution network and distribution centre in the northern suburbs. Romeo's has also now expanded to Sydney with a few stores, branded as Romeo's IGA.

Drakes separated from Foodland last year. It has had its own cold warehouse (near Beverley?) for some years, and opened its dry good warehouse at Edinburgh North last year when it removed all Foodland branding. The shops are all directly owned by Roger Drake (or his family).

The others I named are branded as Foodland or IGA, so are franchisees of brands owned by Metcash, but they are multi-store family-owned chains in their own right. There are also other smaller franchises of Foodland or IGA. Eudunda Farmers still exists as an entity with a number of Foodland outlets (eg Tanunda), and Nuriootpa Foodland is owned by the Barossa Co-op.

I find it ironic that one of the reasons Drakes said they were exiting the Foodland banner was to deliver cheaper groceries, yet they're still consistently one of the most expensive supermarkets out there (as they were when they were under the Foodland banner).