VANA MEMBER PROFILE – Austin Knox Office Supplies
Store Owner: Roop Singh
Address: 100 Nicholson Street, Footscray
“One minute you sell a Serbian a newspaper, the next you are wiring a money transfer to South Sudan. We sell 22 international language newspapers daily. I love servicing my community and reminiscing with the older generation when they collected their newspapers here too” – Roop.
Roop’s story in Australia began in 1999 when he came here to complete his Masters in Information Technology. After beginning a career in this field, he decided he really wanted to be a small business owner. Once a business broker showed him Austin Knox Office Supplies, he immediately knew it was the right fight and he soon joined our ranks as a newsagent.
Fifteen years has passed since then, and Roop is proud to have kept a local business name and identity of over 100 years old alive and well in Footscray. It began as a drafting supplies store at another site and eventually moved to its current location and transformed into a stationery store and newsagency.
Roop relishes the constant revolution in the newsagency industry and is interested to see how the channel adapts to constant digital disruptions. Roop aims to meet this change in demand via increasing his tech gadget range and incorporating Amazon Hub into his business, whilst maintaining traditional products like cards and newspapers.
