From the hundreds of comments on the Friday afternoon Facebook post announcing their retirement to the greetings of, “how are you holding up” from staff on the floor Monday morning, it’s apparent Bob and Susan Hoy will be missed as owners of Gibsons IGA.
After 23 years owning the franchise –– and 34 years of personal and professional history at the grocery store that started it all –– the Hoys have sold the franchise back to the Georgia Main Food Group, taking effect Feb. 25. The parent company of IGA and Fresh St. Market in B.C. also owns the Wilson Creek and Madeira Park IGAs.
“We really had fun,” said Bob, in the office above the store Monday morning, “Band on the Run” playing in the background. “There was a lot of laughter, a lot of fun. We enjoyed the challenge of making changes and really pushing change to see where it would go, whether we succeeded or we failed.”
After 30 years on the retail floor, with a phone that was never truly off, and as their family grows in grandchildren, the Hoys are ready to step back –– and enjoy a festival or two as community members rather than the stalwart sponsors they’ve been over their decades in business.
The Hoys have been through store sales before, but this sale is different, it’s where it all started.
Bob’s parents, Robert and Nancy, opened the Gibsons IGA in 1991, and then 21-year-old Bob was store manager. Though both Bob and Susan grew up in North Delta, they didn’t meet until Susan came to the Coast to train Bob on the till and office computer as part of her work with Mountain Systems, which installed grocery store systems. They married two years later and their daughter was born at Sechelt Hospital.
In 1994, the couple left the Coast and began their first foray into ownership, buying the Abbotsford IGA. From 1996 to 2001, they owned the flagship IGA in Squamish and, then, when his parents sold the Gibsons IGA to Georgia Main, Bob and Susan bought the Sunshine Coast franchise in 2001 (they would also go on to own the Wilson Creek IGA from 2012 to 2019). The couple returned to the Coast with two kids, both of whom would grow up to work at the store through their teenage years and university summers. (Their daughter still runs their social media.)
Being prominent business owners in a small community came with trade-offs. “There wasn’t a time that we went out we didn’t hear something –– whether positive or negative,” said Bob. Now the Hoys are looking forward to attending community events without sporting a business lens.
“Unintentionally or, perhaps intentionally, we kept to ourselves a little bit outside of work,” said Bob. “I think part of the excitement of what we’re doing ––– we’re going to go to all the festivals, we’re going to go to the beaches, we’re going to be able to enjoy this town that so many people enjoy.”
“We love living here,” said Susan. “The community is who we raised our children with. These are not just our customers –– they’re part of our life growing up as a family. A lot of the kids we’ve hired have been kids that our kids went to school with.”
Now the kids of those kids are coming in to work for them. “That’s when you start going, ‘Maybe we’ve been here long enough,’” she laughed. “I don’t want any grandkids to start coming in.”
Over 30 years in the grocery business, almost everything has changed, says Bob, except customer service and commitment to community. “Whether you offer a friendly smile or you’re able to help somebody out, that hasn’t changed,” said Bob. “It’s a commitment to community in every community we’ve been in that’s been very, very important to us.”
Frequently through the interview, the Hoys said they wanted to thank the Sunshine Coast community. “As much effort as we put in, we received through loyalty and kindness from the local community,” said Bob.
But from pricing to variety, everything else has changed. Thirty-three years ago, nothing was gluten-free and little was organic. Being part of a smaller organization meant IGA could be more nimble than larger stores as tastes evolved. When the Atkins low-carb diet became popular, Gibsons IGA dedicated a whole aisle to low-carb food. They jumped on organic and gluten-free groceries –– “We were one of the first ones to get right into it, label them properly, respect people’s needs and change with them,” said Bob. “I think we’ve been pretty good at listening to our customer base and, when the customers have talked to us, we’ve been able to respond.”
Not all of the changes have necessarily been for the better –– 30 years ago, complaints either came from someone’s mouth or from a handwritten letter. Today, anyone can say anything on social media.
“I do miss the times when people would actually complain to you [in person], because you could sit down, have a coffee, and you can work it out,” said Bob.
The store’s displays are a point of pride – they recently won a Canadian master merchandiser award for display building, “That’s a nice way to go out, getting that reward,” said Bob.
“That goes to our team, because everybody is fully invested in not just doing something, but doing it really, really well,” said Bob.
He notes he’s made a lot of mistakes over his career, but he’s been able to park them and learn from them. “I’m definitely not going out thinking that we were perfect in any way, shape or form,” he laughed.
It will take some time to come down from 30 years of being on the go in the grocery business –– a full cycle of the holidays –– and the Hoys will take it a day at a time.
“I love the grocery business. I love the people. I love the adrenaline rush,” said Bob. “That is probably what I’m going to miss the most.
“But at the same time, it’s time to get new adrenaline rushes and a little bit different perspective on life as you go forward.”
Many of the leadership team who gathered in the Gibsons IGA lunchroom last Friday, when the Hoys broke news of the sale, have been with the store for more than a decade, some for the entire 23 years.
“It was emotional, for sure, but it was nice to be with those people and be able to tell them ourselves,” said Bob. “We’ve had a super good team for a really long time.”
And the leadership group will remain in place with the sale, said Bob. “We told them quite clearly that they are the backbone of this business,” he said. “There’s 140 people here, and to have a strong leadership group like that, that’s what makes the ship tick.”
Going forward, the store won’t be a franchise, the ownership will revert to the Georgia Main Food Group. “They’re evolving with the way that the community and the areas need them,” said Susan.
“They’ve changed the way they’ve done business, and they recognize…how important community is, how important the staff are,” said Bob. “I think the transition overall is going to be very smooth.”
