Justin Dowling

2011 was a busy year for Masters. New kids on the home improvement block, they opened their first Australian store in Braybrook, Victoria.

Offering ‘unbeatable value, great service, amazing quality and a fantastic range’ Masters aims to bring ‘much needed competition and choice to consumers’.

A joint venture between Woolworths and US home improvement retailer Lowe’s, there are currently 20 Masters stores under construction across Australia.

LUCRF Super is the default fund for the Masters Distribution Centre in Hoppers Crossing, Victoria. Currently there are 65 team members at the Hoppers Crossing site but this will grow to several hundred over the coming years.

National Distribution and Transport Operations Manager, Justin Dowling said, “The team at Hoppers Crossing have spent the last six months preparing for the first Masters store to open. After such a long wait, the excitement from the team here was unbelievable, as was the sense of pride, that they had achieved their goals and opened the store on time. We are now in the process of getting several more stores ready to trade around Australia, with excitement growing around those too.

“The team at the Distribution Centre have established an internal culture called SMART culture, which stands for Safe, Minimalist, Accurate, Responsive and Team Orientated. By considering these values in everything we do, the team really does get the best outcome for our stores every time.

“Even though most of our staff are local to the Hoppers Crossing area, every time I am in the store on the weekend I see team members from the Distribution Centre, proudly showing off the store to their friends and family. Similarly, at a recent family open day, many of the store staff came to show the Distribution Centre off to their families. We have successfully built a real partnership between both retail and supply chain operations.

“The team are also planning to become further involved in the community, rolling up their sleeves and helping out with selected local projects, which includes staff and friends volunteering their time and skills, with the company also donating materials and tools. As our staff are all locals, they’ll be the ones either choosing or actively initiating the neighbourhood projects that we help,” said Justin.

“I encourage everyone to go and have a look at the new Masters stores. You won’t be disappointed.”

Interview with Justin Dowling, Masters Home Improvement.