|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
In its first day of operation, east Auckland’s newest supermarket sold 6800 heads of sweetcorn, 3700 punnets of blueberries, 2000 units of New Zealand chicken breasts, 1500 watermelons, 650 units of stir-fry prawns and 600 New Zealand pork leg roasts.
And customer demand at Pak’nSave Highland Park has been so great since it opened that it’s had to order dozens of extra trolleys to help it keep up.
The new $100 million store opened its doors to shoppers at 7.30am on February 25 and had to bring in more trolleys just a day later.
It began with 383 trolleys, which Foodstuffs says is more than usual for a store of its size, but it’s added an extra 44 trolleys and is “on the hunt for even more as shoppers continue to pour in”.
Owner-operator Wade Brown says the store’s opening day drew “incredible crowds”, with 5708 customers visiting the store.
“We had people lined up with trolleys before the ribbon was even cut.
“We’re thrilled by the response and are doing everything we can to make sure everyone has a trolley when they arrive.”
Foodstuffs says the new supermarket’s popularity saw some customers resorting to using trolleys from the Australian-owned Woolworths supermarket next door.
Brown urges shoppers to avoid using competitor trolleys.
“We appreciate the enthusiasm, but if everyone could stick to our Pak’nSave trolleys, that would be fantastic,” he says.
With five Pak’nSave team members working full-time the day after the store opened to retrieve trolleys from the car park and nearby streets, the scene underlined the intense competition between the Kiwi-owned Pak’nSave and its multi-national Australian rival.
“We knew competition would be fierce, but this level of demand is beyond our expectations,” Brown says.
“It goes to show how excited east Aucklanders are to have a fresh, locally-owned option that delivers real value.”
He says the store’s low prices continued for the duration of its first week in operation with new specials in place this week.
“There’s also plenty of product to go around with our fantastic team working hard to keep the shelves full.”
The new store covers nearly 7000 square metres of retail space and has created about 250 jobs in the local community.
Owner-operators Wade and Diana Brown are experienced grocers, having previously run New World Kawerau and New World Kumeū.
Click here to see photos from the store’s formal opening: Pak’nSave Highland Park Formal Opening – Times
