Adrian Portelli Is Taking His Cheap Petrol Model To The Supermarket Aisle

If Adrian Portelli is involved, chances are there is going to be some noise around it.

After giving away cars, big prizes and the kind of online promotions that get attention quickly, the billionaire moved into cheap petrol, turning a Preston service station into a cost-of-living talking point.

Now he wants groceries.

Portelli has confirmed the Deer Park IGA in Melbourne’s west will become the first LMCT+ supermarket, with works set to begin on transforming the store. It is a local move, but the pitch is much bigger than one store.

Portelli wants to take the same membership-discount model he tested with cheap petrol and bring it into the supermarket aisle.

That gives the idea a clear audience. Australians are tired of grocery prices, fuel costs and household bills that keep climbing. Portelli is walking straight into that frustration with a simple offer.

Join the club and pay less for the things people already buy every week.

From Cheap Fuel To Cheap Groceries

Portelli’s petrol station gave him the proof point he wanted. He claims the Preston site saved motorists over $725,000 in its opening month and says a larger rollout could return tens of millions of dollars to Australian consumers every month. Those are his figures, but they explain why the supermarket move has attracted attention.

The model is expected to sit inside LMCT+ membership, with previous reports pointing to petrol and groceries being folded into a broader everyday savings offer. That would make the supermarket less like a normal grocery store and more like a Costco-style club built around fuel, food and member discounts.

Portelli is not just swapping one supermarket sign for another.

He is trying to move LMCT+ out of the giveaway feed and into everyday spending, where members buy petrol, groceries and possibly whatever comes next.

The Supermarket Test Will Be Harder

Selling cheap petrol is one thing. Running a supermarket is another. Groceries mean suppliers, stock, margins, fresh food, local expectations and shoppers who compare prices every week.

Portelli has also said small Australian businesses could get shelf space, which gives the project a useful local angle if it actually happens.

Deer Park is not a random starting point. Portelli grew up nearby in Melbourne’s west, which gives the supermarket launch a hometown feel.

The harder part begins after the doors open.

One petrol station and one supermarket do not make a national retail empire. The next test is whether LMCT+ can offer real savings without turning the whole thing into a short-term stunt.

But the idea is sharp. Fuel got people through the door. Groceries could decide whether they stay.