Pakuranga Plaza is being gifted a welcome Christmas present, with confirmation one of its biggest and most well-known tenants will keep operating at the beleaguered shopping centre.
Woolworths Group New Zealand has told the Times it’s in it for the long haul, saying it has no plans to close Pakuranga Woolworths – known as Countdown until recently – a supermarket that has been in the premises – and as a Foodtown previously – for at least four decades.
But Woolworths NZ is saying sorry to customers that have found it difficult getting to and from the Pakuranga Woolworths store over the past year because of the major construction works surrounding it.
The Times asked Woolworths if it’s staying after breaking the news on November 7 that another large, high-profile retailer in the area, The Warehouse, is closing its Pakuranga store at the end of January after 31 years.
Many other smaller retail shops and food and beverage businesses at Pakuranga Plaza have stopped trading there over recent years, with the rate of closures being noticeably higher over the past 12 months.
Construction works for Auckland Transport’s Eastern Busway, and the Reeves Road Flyover (Rā Hihi) that have completely encircled the Pakuranga town centre precinct for more than a year have created continual interruptions and diversions to businesses operating there and for their customers and clients trying to access their goods and services.
Confirmation that Woolworths Pakuranga is staying put and keeping its doors open will be happy Christmas news for Pakuranga Plaza and its economic fortunes, as it maintains a reason for customers to keep shopping at and visiting the town centre.
Woolworths acknowledges the construction works have been painfully frustrating.
“We apologise to customers affected by the construction and look forward to a return to norm once development has ceased,” Woolworths Group New Zealand tells the Times in a statement.
“While the construction work surrounding Pakuranga Plaza created some temporary disruptions, we’re experienced in managing this and worked to ensure minimal impact to customers.
“The Pakuranga Plaza store is an important location for the community and there are no plans currently to close or alter the premises,” says Woolworths Group New Zealand.
“While we are always looking for ways to improve our store network, we will update the community if there are planned changes.”
The Times also made attempts to contact Panda Mart for this story, but it has not responded.
On November 6, it told the Times: “Regarding the potential closure of The Warehouse at Pakuranga and the possible relocation of Panda Mart into that space, we don’t have specific information on these developments.
“For accurate and up-to-date details, we recommend contacting Pakuranga Plaza management directly,” said Panda Mart Pakuranga.
For this story, the Times also contacted Pakuranga Plaza, asking a series of questions including whether Panda Mart is moving into the premises occupied by The Warehouse Pakuranga.
In a statement, it responded: “At this time, we don’t have any information to share.
“We appreciate your understanding and interest in Pakuranga Plaza.
“If or when there are updates that we can share publicly about any tenant changes, we’ll be sure to communicate these through our official channels,” said the Pakuranga Plaza management team.
- For earlier Times’ stories about Pakuranga Plaza this year, see:
