Company History

In 1911 Eugene Fisher and his wife set up a business from a tent in Merbein. Sadly Eugene died quite young leaving the running of the business to their eldest child Alan.

Alan could see the need for expansion so in 1949 he opened stores in both Dareton and Wentworth. That same year tragedy struck when the original store in Merbein burnt to the ground.

1950 saw the opening of the Robinvale store which unfortunately was also destroyed by fire in 1952.

Like his father Eugene, Alan also died young at the age of 56. Alan and his wife Adelaide had two children Bill and Mary. Bill who had been away at college was called home to take over the running of the company.

And thus began the roller coaster ride of Bill Fisher, at times facing financial ruin only to rally and move on from strength to strength. In 1961 the first Mildura store opened, followed by a second store in 1966, while in 1968 a third store was opened in Mildura along with the opening of the Red Cliffs store.

During the time from 1970 until 1999, Bill adjusted and reviewed his strategies by opening, closing and renovating stores, removing hardware and introducing a drive through bottle shop in the newly renovated Merbein store.

In 1993 Fishers joined the IGA group which is the largest independent buying group in Australia which enables Fishers to be more competitive with the national food chains. In 2001 the well known and respected identity, Bill Fisher died leaving his son Alan a substantial business to direct.

Alan was motivated to expand the business so began the acquisition of supermarkets, fuel stations and newsagencies throughout Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia.

Thus from small beginnings Fishers has grown into a large independent player while retaining family, local and regional values and at the same time providing the National Supermarkets with some serious competition.