Grocery trade in the blood for Pak'n Save boss

The whole thing about Pak'n Save is we hang our hat on having New Zealand's lowest grocery prices and we work on a low cost model. Rob McGregor, owner/operator Pak'n Save Rob McGregor grew up in a supermarket and never left.
The 46-year-old's father owned New World in Te Kuiti and Mr McGregor worked there after school throughout his childhood.
He left and bought two New World supermarkets between 1995 and 1999 in Hamilton and Auckland and now, nine years on, is owner/operator of Papamoa's newest supermarket - Pak'n Save.
Due to open on Tuesday, the multimillion-dollar supermarket is a welcome business commodity in Papamoa, with clientele predicted to spill over to neighbouring businesses in Fashion Island.
Pak'n Save will be a "cornerstone" for Papamoa, Mr McGregor said. The businessman moved to the Bay five years ago to begin the project on Domain Rd but it was stalled by the recession.
"We need a big population to make these things work and the place was growing rapidly, then the recession hit and everything slowed down," he said.
"Supermarkets are a big beast and if an area is not big enough, they struggle.
"The timing is right now."
The store, which has had a "dream run" in the 47 weeks it took to build, is abuzz with tradesmen and staff, who are doing final maintenance jobs, stacking shelves and being put through training for when the supermarket is opened by Mayor Stuart Crosby.
Mr McGregor said when completed, it would have taken a month to stack shelves.
He said it was unfortunate GST went up a fortnight after their opening date.
"We're going to have to re-ticket everything. By the time GST was announced, we had the opening date set in stone and we need the time before Christmas to get staff trained," he said. "There's not the same pressure at the moment."
Despite another supermarket having already established itself at nearby Papamoa Plaza, Mr McGregor isn't worried about competition.
"Not at all. [Because this store is independently owned] I don't have shareholders to keep happy.
"The whole thing about Pak'n Save is we hang our hat on having New Zealand's lowest grocery prices and we work on a low cost model.
"The model works because of the efficiency of buying in bulk. We have a smaller range but if you have too many, you can't buy in bulk."
It also saves time when stacking shelves by hand. Too many brands equals too much complexity and extra cost to the supermarket and customer, he said.
"Pak'n Save is all about taking cost out of the model. And we still cater our range to our clientele."
Mr McGregor, whose upstairs office looks over the workings of the bright and light supermarket - a feature is sky lights - has brought "five or six couples" down from his last supermarket, in Auckland. Most of them hold managers' roles.
This leaves me to believe supermarkets breed romance - Mr McGregor shrugs and laughs at the suggestion.
"They work together, get to know each other and sometimes they gravitate together. It's cool," he said.
Mr McGregor himself is married to Rose and they have four children ranging in age from 9 to 20.
Mr McGregor said he never thought he'd enter the grocery trade after leaving university but it turns out it was too much in his blood.
"It's a real people job and everyday is different, you don't get bored. I love it."
PAK'N SAVE PAPAMOA
Size of the supermarket: 5600sq m.
Staff: 1400 applied for jobs, 180 were employed.
Shopping and petrol hours: 7am-10pm, seven days.
Storage: The back store room holds 250 pallets weighing a tonne each.
Trolley room: Between grocery displays there is 5.5m of space.
Extras
A 6.5m high beer fridge that holds up to 30 pallets of cold beer.
A standalone generator in case of power cuts.
120 digital surveillance cameras.
14 standard checkouts and four self-scan check outs.
350 trolleys and close to 400 carparks.
The store sells Lotto.