Spudshed

Western Australian supermarket chain

Spudshed Fresh Food Markets

Spudshed store in Jandakot
Trade name	Spudshed
Company type	Private
Industry	Agribusiness, Retail
Founded	1998 (1998) in Baldivis, Western Australia
Founder	Tony and Vince Galati
Headquarters	10 Clarke Street, O'Connor, Western Australia , Australia
Number of locations	17
Area served	Western Australia
Products	Fruit and vegetables, groceries, meat
Revenue	$404 million (2020^[1])
Net income	$7.6 million (2020)
Owner	Tony Galati
Number of employees	1154 (Estimated) (June 2020)
Website	www.spudshed.com.au

Spudshed is an independent supermarket chain in Western Australia.^[a] The store was founded by Tony Galati, and forms part of the family-owned Galati Group.

As of August 2022^[update], the chain comprises a total of 17 stores across Western Australia. Its main competitors are Woolworths, Coles, Aldi and IGA. Spudshed differentiates itself by operating most stores 24 hours a day,^[2]^[3] and retailing low-cost produce grown on Galati family farms throughout the state.

History

The first Spudshed was opened in Baldivis in November 1998, originally as a farmers market in a shed on Galati's Baldivis property. In 2018, Spudshed reported profit growth of 76%, or $4 million.^[4]

Tony Galati

Spudshed co-founder Antonino "Tony" Galati was born on 1 April 1961, and is the eldest son of Sicilian migrants Francesco and Carmela Galati, who started a 2-hectare (4.9-acre) market garden in Spearwood in the 1960s.^[5] Tony has a brother, Vincenzo "Vince" Galati, a sister, and three sons and a daughter (Francessco, Sebastian, Anthony and Alana).

Galati became a household name in Western Australia for his protracted legal battles against the Potato Marketing Corporation of Western Australia (PMC). In 2015, the PMC launched legal action against Galati, alleging that he had planted more than his allocated quota of potatoes.^[6] Prohibited from selling excess potatoes due to legal quotas, Galati used free potato giveaways at his Spudshed stores to protest against what he considered to be unfair and excessive control by the board.^[7] Galati ultimately prevailed when the state government deregulated the industry, with the PMC becoming defunct in December 2016.^[8]^[9]

The battle between Galati and the PMC was celebrated in a Fringe World musical in 2019, returning again in 2020.^[10]

Notes

^ Spud is a colloquial term for potato in English.

References

^ Smith, Sean (2 November 2020). "Virus sales rush sends Spudshed revenue soaring above 400m". West Australian. Retrieved 14 July 2024.
^ "WA potato laws embroiled in controversy". Watoday.com.au. 15 March 2012.
^ Brown, Natalie; Thompson, Brad (15 January 2015). "Spud giveaway proves big hit". West Australian. Archived from the original on 22 January 2015. Retrieved 20 January 2015 – via Yahoo.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
^ Brammer, Jenne (18 November 2018). "Tony Galati's Spudshed empire grows profits by 76% to nearly $4m". West Australian. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
^ Brammer, Jenne (19 February 2019). "Tony Galati goes back to his Spearwood roots to open 11th Spudshed store". West Australian. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
^ Fitzgerald, Bridget (2015). "The West Australian potato regulator to take Spud Shed owner Tony Galati to court over alleged breach of a commercial agreement". ABC News. Retrieved 14 July 2024.
^ Fitzgerald, Bridget (27 January 2015). "Potato giveaway drives a wedge between growers". ABC News. Retrieved 14 July 2024.
^ Fitzgerald, Bridget (30 May 2017). "WA Premier defends decision to drop lawsuit against potato grower Tony Galati". ABC News. Retrieved 14 July 2024.
^ Blanchini, Justin (17 November 2017). "Spud King Tony Galati giving away free potatoes at his Spud Shed stores across Perth all weekend". Wanneroo Times. Retrieved 14 July 2024.
^ "Tony Galati the Musical". Fringe World. 2020. Archived from the original on 28 February 2020.