I was born in Sydney and spent my childhood moving between a few houses, from Georges Hall to Strathfield, as my parents found their footing in Australia after immigrating from Lebanon as newlyweds. By the time my elder brother and I started school, we had settled in Strathfield, where I still live in our family home today.
My family was led by two relentlessly dedicated parents who worked tirelessly to provide for us. I grew up with two brothers, and our house was never quiet. My elder brother was always DJing on the top floor, my younger brother was constantly picking up new instruments (his drumming phase was my personal favourite), and I was dancing and throwing around my new gymnastics’ apparatus in the living room. It’s safe to say, our house truly felt the presence of its members.
My childhood was a happy one. The kind that I hope my own children will one day experience. While I tried my best to channel my father’s genius when it came to school, I was never destined to be a mathematical or scientific prodigy. My passion was in the arts, and I dedicated most of my formative years to rhythmic gymnastics. It was a huge part of my life for over 15 years, leading to lifelong friendships with the ladies I shared my blood, sweat and tears with. The ten years of training and preparing which led me to win national titles and represent Australia on numerous occasions, gave me the focus, grit, and longevity in my work ethic and attitude which I’m grateful for today.
Upon retiring the leotards, I began coaching gymnastics with my home club, alongside completing my two university degrees, sharing my experiences and giving back to the team which gave me so much. After exploring different retail roles, I finally donned the green-checked uniform of BP Horsley Park and stepped fully into the world of petrol and convenience retail.
I have always had a thirst for travel and immersing myself in cultures both foreign and familiar, hoping to adopt practices and philosophies to live by. As a Lebanese-Australian, we frequently visited Lebanon on family holidays. One of my favourite trips was an African safari in Nairobi, Kenya, where I went glamping near hippo sanctuaries, and spotting Timon, Pumba, and all the animals of Pride Rock on 4WD tours and hot air balloons. More recently, I’ve become obsessed with Japan and Sweden in the winter, and Italy—well, Italy is a destination I could visit any day of the year.
Today, I am the General Manager of our family’s petrol and convenience business, Blue Robe Petroleum. My role sees me involved in everything from daily operations and HR to compliance and café and coffee development. Recently, I’ve been working on the development of our new flagship store and concept, set to open in mid-2025.
My Dad, with over 30 years of industry experience and a deep-rooted partnership with BP, passed down an immense amount of knowledge about retail, competitive market strategy, and customer service excellence. I processed half of it and am determined to write the other half myself.
Although my career is still young, one of my biggest milestones has been reaching a level of confidence where I can independently operate our stores. Another highlight has been working on the redevelopment of our flagship store in New South Wales, where we’re pushing boundaries in both design and product offerings. It’s an exciting time—watch this space!
Outside of work, my time is usually spent either eating or at the gym, trying to earn my weekend’s worth of dining adventures. My fiancé and I love being outdoors with our Aussie Shepherd, Axel, soaking up the sun and saltwater, bouldering, or finding a pet-friendly pub for a fat schnitty.
As retailers, we can sometimes hit a wall of complacency, limited by the blinkers we have on, or reliant on the industry to lead the way for innovation. My advice to operators is to seek inspiration from other industries which aim to solve the same mission as us. Convenience. I love to spend my weekends scouring bakeries, coffee shops, sandwich/salad bars, concept grocery stores, retail shops, dessert bars, the list goes on. Everyone is selling a convenient service, customers are already conditioned to these behaviours, so why not exploit it?
As for suppliers, my concern is their decreasing presence in-store, particularly when compared to the grocery channel. Supplier representatives are a very useful asset to retailers in activating products, making effective purchase decisions, assisting in category planograms, and sharing their insights and experiences. Naturally, brands which show us support and care for our mutual success will have a greater priority, and it is not very hard for even the giants to fall to the wayside when that relationship is lost.
When we have not yet converted our operations systems and behaviours to AI, human interaction and assistance goes a long way and should be considered a valuable asset in achieving corporate KPIs.
This article was originally published in the April/May issue of Convenience and Impulse Retailing magazine.
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