About Us

Spotlight Group is an Australian operated; Melbourne based business that is privately owned.

Spotlight Group controls, operates and invests in a diverse set of businesses and assets, patiently built over more than 45 years. Spotlight Group (SG) can trace its roots back to a stall selling fabric in Melbourne’s Queen Victoria Markets more than forty five years ago.

In 1973, the first retail store was opened under the Spotlight brand name, offering ‘Bargains Galore’ in the Melbourne suburb of Malvern. It is from these humble beginnings that the Group evolved, slowly at first, with a second Spotlight store in Box Hill in 1976.

More stores followed in the ensuing years, including the first store in New Zealand in 1996, and the foundations of an Asian footprint, with a store opening in Singapore in 1995. In 2014 the Group was proud to open its first store in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The Spotlight store network now encompasses approximately 135 stores, all continuing the tradition of offering the largest range of fabrics, home furnishings, sewing, home decorator, craft and party supplies, all at the lowest prices.

In 2004, the Group launched Anaconda, its second and now iconic retail brand. Anaconda was launched with a vision to be Australia’s leading outdoor adventure and sports super store, leveraging the deep ‘big box’ retailing capabilities developed over the decades of Spotlight’s successful growth. The Anaconda brand is a network of 60 stores strong with a presence in all Australian states, and continues to grow rapidly.

The group acquired iconic Australian outdoor and adventure brand Mountain Designs in 2018. Founded in 1975 by mountaineer Rick White, Mountain Designs has long provided superior and innovative goods to adventurers across the globe. With real credibility, a passion for quality product and a focus on the best gear for the Australian market, the Mountain Designs brand is a cornerstone of the outdoors industry. Mountain Designs is available online at mountaindesigns.com and in Anaconda stores Australia Wide.

In 2020, the group acquired Harris Scarfe. Founded in 1849 as Adelaide’s own Department Store, Harris Scarfe aspires to help Australians feel proud about themselves and their home. Today, 43 stores offer quality brands and products at the best promotional prices across homewares, manchester and apparel.

In parallel with (and facilitating) the growth of the retail store network, the Group has acquired and developed a substantial retail and commercial property portfolio, across Australia and New Zealand. It is a landlord to over 300 tenants, as well as housing a significant number of Spotlight and Anaconda stores themselves. In more recent years, Spotlight Group has continued to diversify its interests, through the Group’s ownership stakes in a variety of other operating businesses, the development of a diversified investment portfolio including an active and fast growing property finance business, (managed under the Alara brand), and the Spotlight Foundation, which seeks to make grants and donations to a range of worthy causes each year.