Our People

Jamal Gebara – Director

Jamal has been the creator and innovator of City Convenience Store since its inception in 1996.

Jamal started with a store in the Eastern suburbs of Sydney. On a trip into the Sydney CBD in 1996 for a business meeting he looked to buy chocolates for his young daughter on his journey home. There was nowhere at the time to purchase such a simple product.

From this simple premise Jamal realised that if he wanted to do such a thing, then many other people within the CBD would possibly do the same. He assessed the possibility of a store within the CBD and from these humble beginnings, he had the insight to open his first City Convenience Store.

He Commenced by opening a store at the corner of Pitt and Liverpool Streets. It was so successful that within weeks he leased the adjacent shop and expanded. This store had been previously vacant for three years, Jamal had secured a ten year lease, and from here City Convenience Store (as both a concept and business) has successfully developed into 180 stores both within Sydney and interstate. Today, Jamal continues to be the driving force behind City Convenience Store.

Mark Richardson – General Manager

Mark joined City Convenience Store in 2008 from the property service sector. In association with Jamal, Mark has seen to the modernisation of store architecture, branding and unifying the structure of City Convenience.

Mark oversaw the new City Convenience Store concepts, City Supermarket and City Essentials, and in addition to conceptual progress, Mark has initiated interstate expansion with the first store of its kind opened in Hobart in 2010. Mark has generated further expansion into areas of the Sydney CBD, which had previously been restricted due to suitable lease space.

Being directly involved in brand positioning, lease acquisition and the concept of subleasing larger premises to other organisations, Mark has enabled City Convenience to add value to the brand by attracting additional customers to the stores and developing valuable relationships with suppliers. Mark has facilitated City Convenience Stores to experience new growth opportunities and has been working towards unifying the City Convenience group in various ways. Listening to partners and suppliers is a priority for Mark, including price and structure negotiations, compliance and operational innovation. Accommodating the needs of store owners and managers are also integral to the development and overall success of City Convenience that Mark is building.

Mark believes that by unifying the structure and amalgamation the group, City Convenience will be able to implement greater positive changes to the operations within the business and form long term relationships with their partners and suppliers.