Harris Farm Markets keep it in the family
The working relationship with his brothers is different again. Two of them are also in the family business. Luke, 34, is chief operating officer and Angus, 32, is chief financial officer. “There are positives and negatives,” says Tristan. “Sometimes it is such unbelievably good fun and really easy working together. It’s great knowing somebody’s always got your back and we’re all of a similar age. When we’re fighting it can make work very difficult but, on the whole, it’s an extremely positive experience.”
Their other two brothers don’t work for Harris Farm. While Dan, 36, works in the wholesale fruit and vegetable business, the youngest, 30 year-old Lachlan, is communications director for the Prime Minister.
Tristan says working with your parents give you a healthy respect for them as businesspeople and all round human beings, as well as simply your mum and dad. “A lot of credit goes to my dad, but my mum is also an incredible lady. She is a very smart businesswoman and very active in the arts and on various boards. Not many mums have an AO!” Catherine Harris was made an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2006 for services to community development through leadership roles, including the advancement of the status of women.
Harris Farm Markets, which predominantly sell fruit and vegetables, are up against huge competition from the supermarket giants Woolworths and Coles. To stay ahead of the game, the business is concentrating on offering more fresh meat and deli lines to its in-store offer as well as opening new stores in new locations to continue to grow. “We have built up that European deli feel over the last 15 years,” says Tristan. “But we’ve really ramped it up in the last five.”
He adds: “There’s very much a perception that our product isn’t the cheapest, which is driven by the view we have a higher quality product. In fact, we spend a huge amount of time making sure we’re cheaper than the supermarkets. We’ve got quite a significant growth in meat and seafood but we have no plans to diversify our base at all.”