Spotlight Group Holdings Pty Ltd (SGH) is an Australian retail conglomerate and one of the country's largest private companies. Its Spotlight Retail Group division operates fabric and craft store chain Spotlight, outdoor retailers Anaconda and Mountain Designs, and department store chain Harris Scarfe. The first Spotlight store was established in Melbourne in 1973 by brothers Morry Fraid and Ruben Fried.
History
The Spotlight Group was founded by Ruben and Vivienne Fried in 1973. Ruben’s brother, Morry Fraid, joined in 1976, establishing a partnership that would go on to create some of Australia’s most recognised retail brands.[1] Brothers Morry Fraid and Ruben Fried, whose names were spelled differently due to a mistake by their teachers, immigrated to Australia from Israel in 1956 with their parents, who established a fabric stall at the Queen Victoria Market in Melbourne. The first Spotlight store was opened in 1973 in Malvern. By 1990 there were 30 stores across Australia and the company was turning over about A$90 million, with the brothers' net worth estimated by the Australian Financial Review as about A$30 million.[2]
Beginning in the late 1990s, Spotlight used economic value added as an internal metric to calculate employee bonuses.[3] By 2006, Spotlight was employing 6,000 people and had a turnover of A$600 million. It used the Howard government's WorkChoices legislation to entice its employees to accept Australian workplace agreements with lower wage rates.[4][5]
In 2017, Spotlight was reportedly Australia's fifth-largest privately owned retailer, behind 7-Eleven, the Peregrine Corporation, Cotton On Group, and Peter Warren Automotive.[6]
Expansion
Outside of Australia, Spotlight has stores in Singapore (1995), New Zealand (1996), and Malaysia (2014).[7]
In March 2018, Spotlight Group announced that it had acquired outdoor retailer Mountain Designs for an undisclosed sum.[8]
In March 2020, Spotlight Group was awarded the exclusive right to bid for Harris Scarfe, a chain of department stores placed into voluntary administration in 2019.[9] The sale proceeded for a reported $70 million.[10] In March 2021, Zac Fried announced that Spotlight Group planned to open 50 new Harris Scarfe stores in order to compete against Big W and Kmart.[11]
Net worth
In 2021, The Australian listed Morry Fraid and Zac Fried, a son of Reuben Fried, as the 30th and 31st richest people in Australia, with a net worth of A$2.81 billion each.[12] Meanwhile and in a contrasting assessment one month later, Morry Fraid, Zac Fried and family were listed on the Financial Review 2021 Rich List with a collective/joint net worth of A$3.19 billion. As of May 2025, their net worth was assessed at A$5.01 billion in the Financial Review 2025 Rich List.
Structure
As of 2021 Spotlight Group Holdings is divided into the Spotlight Property Group, managing the group's property portfolio; the Alara Investment Group, managing other investments; and the Spotlight Retail Group, which is divided into the brands of Spotlight, Anaconda, Mountain Designs, and Harris Scarfe.[17]
External links
References
- $300 million and more Australian Financial Review, 18 May 2006, retrieved 8 March 2024^
- Morry Fraid and Reuben Freid Australian Financial Review, 6 April 1990, retrieved 8 April 2021^
- How the brothers came to know EVA The Age, 17 June 2004, retrieved 11 April 2021^
- Peter Hartcher. Finally, the monster is unleashed The Sydney Morning Herald, 2 June 2006, retrieved 11 April 2021^
- Spotlight: the company at centre stage in the battle over WorkChoices RN Breakfast: Radio National, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 19 September 2007, retrieved 11 April 2021^
- Emma Koehn. Australia's top 20 biggest private retailers revealed SmartCompany, 7 September 2017, retrieved 11 April 2021^
- An easy sell: Quentin Gracanin CEO Magazine, 16 April 2020, retrieved 11 April 2021^
- Emma Koehn. Troubled outdoor retailer Mountain Designs bought by Spotlight Group Smart Company, 29 March 2018, retrieved 11 April 2021^
- Eli Greenblat. Spotlight looks set to salvage Harris Scarfe The Australian, 3 March 2020, retrieved 8 April 2021^
- Harris Scarfe sold to Spotlight Group Business News Australia, 16 April 2020, retrieved 11 April 2021^
- Dominic Powell. 'Former glory': Spotlight plans 50 new Harris Scarfe stores in five years The Age, 8 March 2021, retrieved 11 April 2021^
- The List: Australia's Richest 250 The Australian, retrieved 2021-04-11^
- The 200 richest people in Australia revealed Australian Financial Review, 27 May 2021, retrieved 28 May 2021^
- The 200 richest people in Australia revealed Australian Financial Review, 26 May 2023, retrieved 6 June 2023^
- Australia's wealthiest 200 now control $625b Australian Financial Review, 30 May 2024, retrieved 18 September 2024^
- Australia's wealthiest 200 revealed, fortunes blow past $667b Australian Financial Review, 30 May 2025, retrieved 31 May 2025^
- Home Page Spotlight Group Holdings^