Magnetic Stories

CASE STORYFerguson Plarre Bakehouses, Australia

Ferguson Plarre Bakehouses is a joint family-owned and -operated business in Australia. The Ferguson Plarre history commenced in 1901 in the northern and western suburbs of Melbourne as both families separately established themselves as household names. (Growing up in Melbourne, a pie or vanilla slice from either was always a special treat.)

The families continued trading through both World Wars and the Great Depression, despite the tough conditions. After years of friendly competition, the families merged their businesses to become Ferguson Plarre Bakehouses in 1980. The fourth generation of the Plarre family bought out the Ferguson family in 2012, but kept the well-known name. They still have a very strong brand, with 80 bakehouses across Melbourne. When my mother-in-law promises to bring a cake for dessert but runs out of time to bake one herself, it will always be from Ferguson's.

The CEO is Steve Plarre, who is fourth generation. He runs the company with his brother Mike, who is the General Manager of Manufacturing. Steve lives in Melbourne with his wife, Kate, and two young daughters, Elizabeth and Felicity. He loves to cook and loves exercising, especially running … which is probably a good thing, being surrounded by pastry all day.

Karaoke cakes

Steve came to my attention in May 2020 during the lockdown restrictions of the coronavirus. I saw one of his ‘Corona-oke’ videos where he was singing and dancing to songs that ...