Firstly, I want to say a huge ‘Thankyou’ to the whole team for the amazing effort you’re all putting in to enable us to continue trading despite the impacts of COVID.
Every day brings us new challenges of people in isolation and disruption to rosters. Thankyou to everyone who has worked extra shifts, swapped shifts and rearranged their days to make themselves available to work. We appreciate those of you who have helped by working in different departments or stores and the store management teams that have been juggling rosters and scrambling to fill shifts at short notice. No doubt these challenges will stretch us during the busy Easter trading period and for some weeks to come.
Through your efforts we’re able to open the shop doors every day to serve our community and feed the people of the Adelaide Hills. Please be assured that your efforts don’t go unnoticed and the whole team really appreciates your commitment.
As you can read in more detail below, our CEO Robert Grubb is retiring this month after an amazing 30 years of leading our business. He has overseen the expansion of our business from one small supermarket in Lobethal and has led us through many challenging times. I want to acknowledge the leadership and guidance that Robert has provided to both the business and our family over many years. He is a true stalwart of the industry and will be missed by many.
We have recently announced the appointment of Tim Green as our new CEO. Tim will take up the role on the 16th May and is very much looking forward to meeting everyone and taking on the challenge of leading our business forward. Tim has had extensive experience in the supermarket & liquor industry, having worked for Metcash, Woolworths/Endeavour Drinks and Coles. We look forward to Tim’s contribution and feel very lucky to have him be part of the Klose’s family.
We all know the Adelaide Hills is a great place to live and work and the Hills are even more beautiful during autumn. Whether you’re attending the Oakbank races next weekend, visiting a winery or cellar door, or just spending time with family & friends, I wish you a safe & happy Easter.
Nick Klose
Our CEO Robert Grubb has announced that he is retiring this April after 30 years of leading Klose’s Supermarkets.
Robert joined Klose’s in 1992 as Store Manager of our Lobethal Foodland which at the time was our only store.
Robert brought skills & experience that changed the way we operated and made us far more professional. As the business grew and we acquired more stores, Robert transitioned from Store Manager to Operations Manager overseeing each store and then on to General Manager and CEO.
Over three decades under Robert’s leadership, Klose’s have become an integral part of the Adelaide Hills community. He has overseen tremendous growth and safely steered the business through many challenging times.
It is anticipated that Robert will officially finish in his role as CEO at the end of April.
While we are not yet saying farewell, we want to acknowledge Robert’s years of dedication and commitment to leading our business.
Thank you Robert for all your hard work and dedication. We wish you all the best for your upcoming retirement.
As my retirement date draws closer obviously I have been reflecting on my time at Klose’s. I will retire with an immense sense of pride for what we have achieved during the 30 years that I have been here. The company certainly is much different now to what it was when I started way back in 1992, when we only had the one store – even that was much smaller than it is these days.
It has taken a team effort, so I would like to thank all past and present employees for their efforts and contribution to the success of the company. When I reflect back on our staff over the years I think of the now hundreds of young people who began their working life at Klose’s before moving on to other things. I think of the number of long term employees, and there are many of them now, who have decided to stay on and commit to Klose’s for many years and I think of everyone else who has spent time working for Klose’s helping to get the job done. As I said it takes a team effort and no one person can do it on their own.
We are a major employer in the hills now and there are many people and suppliers relying on us to open the doors everyday and succeed so that we can pay the bills every week. I also reflect on the support that the company has been able to offer to the hills community over the years as well, during the good times and the bad times. It is something we should all be extremely proud of – the company does makes a difference to the community. There certainly have been some difficult times for us all, especially over the past few years, but we have been able to rise to the challenges we have faced and I can retire with the knowledge that the company is in a sound position and well positioned to take advantage of any further growth opportunities should they arise and you should all feel optimistic about the future of Klose’s. Just as important as well though is that you are employed by a good family, that care about more than just money! Keep up the good work.
Anyway that’s about all I have to say. Farewell and all the best to you all.
Robert Grubb
2022 Foodland/IGA Awards of Excellence winners annouced at the end of April.
Wish us luck!!!
How it started and where we’re headed ….
Here at Klose’s Cellarbrations we have a focus on all things Adelaide Hills. Upon opening the Woodside store we really wanted to help out the local community eg: wineries, breweries, distilleries and even a local butcher shop for their beer sticks and jerky.
Along the way we have made some great contacts and friends. There are a number of wineries now that say we are their ‘unofficial cellar door’. We focus on locals, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have wine, beer and spirits from other regions. If it tastes good we will have it!
The staff Klose’s Cellarbrations are some of the best I have worked with. They all have their different qualities and strengths and we are like a small family. With the product knowledge that staff are picking up and the customer service they offer I believe Klose’s Cellarbrations have two of the best bottle shops in not only the Adelaide Hills but S.A. In fact, Cellarbrations Head Office recommend those who are looking at opening their own Cellarbrations store to come and look at how we’ve set up at Nairne and Woodside to get some sort of idea of what a great store looks like! I personally am very proud to be working for the Klose group and working with all my staff.
In these tough times over the past couple of years, I have watched the Adelaide Hills community fall in love with the ‘Hills’ again and become stronger. We see this in store while serving people and in the way people are holding their heads higher everyday. Here at Cellarbrations we want to help the whole community develop and become stronger in any way we can. That might be from selling them their favourite wine, to supplying sporting clubs or even just listening to customers who want a good chat when they pop in. No more bad jokes though, that’s Matt Sowden’s job.
Come and see the largest range of Gruners in the state. If you don’t know what a Gruner is .. then you should come in and try one and support the Adelaide Hills.
We hope to see more of you in store soon!
Stephen Bolt (Store Manager – Nairne & Woodside)
We feel these awards are truly special in acknowledging our employees who go above and beyond for our Company, our Customers and their fellow Team Members.
LEFT: Nick Klose, Ryan Hill our CHARLIE KLOSE AWARD WINNER & Derek Darling
RIGHT: Nick Klose, Seb Johnson our JUNIOR EMPLOYEE OF THE YEAR WINNER & Derek Darling
KLOSE’S SUPERMARKETS, WOODSIDE
LEADING THE WAY IN SUSTAINABILITY! Keep an eye out for this article showcasing our Woodside store in Foodland’s upcoming Autumn Magazine.
It’s wonderful to be recognised by Foodland for our approach to sustainability across all Klose’s stores.
KLOSE’S SUPERMARKETS
COMMUNITY CHEST DONATIONS
FEATURED IN FOODLAND’S AUTUMN MAGAZINE
We’re very proud to be again be showcased in the upcoming Foodland Magazine for our Community Chest donations.
Giving back to those that support us is very important at Klose’s. We are super proud to have been able to pass on these donations to local CFS stations, but then to also have Foodland bring focus to this
via their ‘Community News’ noticeboard is just wonderful!
It’s great to see so many of you join up to our Klose’s Footy Tipping competition this season. It’s a fun interactive way to be involved with your fellow workmates AND you could win $$$$$. We’re heading into Round 4, with Brisbane sitting atop of the ladder but the big movers and shakers seem to be Carlton! Every Blue Bagger supporter is up and about excited about their teams first 3 games. Just as every Bomber, Eagles & Port supporter are desperately hoping for their teams first win in Round 4.
Deb Starick is out in front on our leader board with Tim Darling & Gordon Duncan following closely behind. Then there’s a few of us that are listed in the ‘Bottom 10’ than need to up our game a bit if we want to be in the mix at the end. But that’s when WILDCARDS can come into play giving us the boost we might need to catch up. Keep up the good work everyone and good luck for the remaining games. Congratulations to all margin game winners too.
All participants of the footy tipping competition have a chance to use the Foodland AFL tickets for Crows & Port home games at Adelaide Oval .. The tippers who were lucky enough to have the tickets last week witnessing the Crows win after the siren will tell you to how great it is! We thank the Klose family for the opportunity to be able to go and watch AFL games on those tickets.
AS AT ROUND 3 :
We know it’s almost Easter but we can’t forget about 2021 Christmas! Here are some pics from staff at our Nairne store getting into the Christmas Spirit last year.
