Construction is under way and New World Point Chevalier is set to open next year. Photo / Jason Dorday
Foodstuffs North Island has announced eight new or replacement supermarkets for Auckland, Tauranga and Havelock North with plans to open the new Pak’nSave, New World and Four Square brands in those areas.
Some stores are replacements or rebuilds after last year’s fatal floods.
But some are new outlets in areas where New Zealand’s largest supermarket co-operative has not previously had a presence and indicates an expansion worth at least $150 million.
A spokesman released a list of the eight stores with their approximate opening dates.
Opening activity is particularly focused on the final quarter of this year, from October to December, he indicated.
The supermarkets have been listed here in order of their opening dates.
1. A New World Havelock North replacement store due to begin trading from July
This state-of-the-art store at 34 Havelock Rd is a replacement store for the current New World on Porter Dr. The outlet was due to open at the end of 2023 but has taken longer than initially expected. This was reported by the Herald in 2022 as a $26m project.
The new outlet will be a 3000sq m store to be owned and operated by Richard Lucas, who owns the existing New World Havelock North.
2. A New World Mt Albert after New World Fresh Collective Alberton shut due to last year’s floods, due to open in October
This is a new name for an existing store, with the Fresh Collective label vanishing on re-opening.
This was a cherished community store, hit by Auckland’s floods early last year.
Foodstuffs said last year it would remain closed for the foreseeable future. The exterior car park was largely under water on February 2 and customers expressed sadness that such a convenient outlet had been so badly damaged.
“What terrible news - you saw us through a pandemic with your wonderful staff always making our day a little brighter,” one female customer said at the time last February.
Customers were advised to go to New World Mt Roskill at 53 May Rd while the New World Mt Albert was coming together.
Recruitment has been underway including for a checkout manager, butchery and seafood manager, bakery and deli manager and other positions.
3. New World The Sands, Pāpāmoa, Tauranga, due to open in November
This is an anchor tenant in the $1b Pāpāmoa East town Centre and a new store, not a replacement.
The Herald reported in December 2022 that Foodstuffs’ New World was the first and cornerstone tenant for The Sands Town Centre and is expected to create about 180 new jobs in the area. The supermarket is part of stage one of the development, including 10 major tenancies in more than 20,000sq m of new commercial space.
The first details of the town centre were revealed in 2021. Nathan York, chief executive of town centre developers Bluehaven Group, said New World was an obvious choice as the first major tenant for The Sands.
4. New, much-anticipated New World Point Chevalier, on the ex-RSA site, opening in the final quarter of 2025
Perhaps one of the more controversial new-builds due to the site being home to the RSA in the area for many years.
However, this location is expected to trade extremely strongly due to population density, intensification and high-spending demographics, with properties in the area remaining popular.
In 2022, the Herald reported how Foodstuffs bought the RSA. Designs for the New World in the central Auckland suburb were to incorporate a facility for a new RSA on top of it, along with parking and commercial office space, it was reported then. However, a change by the RSA meant the plans for the clubrooms were later dropped.
The Point Chevalier RSA had been in a dire financial state for years and a vote by RSA members to sell a 4000 sqm block of land it owns on Great North Rd was conducted.
The block was valued by Auckland Council at $6.1 million in June 2021 but it is understood to have been independently valued much higher - close to $10 million.
GN Construction is building the new store, designed by Wingate Architects.
The new supermarket is being built across the RSA block and a neighbouring property which had been a car yard.
Emma Wooster, then Foodstuffs head of public relations in 2022, told the Herald: “We’ve been wanting to serve the Point Chevalier community for some years, locals have been asking us when we’re coming, but we found it challenging to find the right spot to build - so we were delighted when the opportunity came up for us to work with the RSA a couple of years ago.”
A large crane is now on the site and construction is continuing apace.
5. The new $100m under-construction 6391sq m Pak’nSave Highland Park, opening in nine months in early 2025.
This is a giant of a store, one of New Zealand’s largest of the big-box yellow and black outlets, to trade next to a Woolworths of just over 4000sq m.
Legacy Construction is building the new store on a gently sloping 2.09ha site at 503 Pakuranga Rd.
When the Herald visited this month, most of the roof is on, the floor is soon about to be poured and walls are up on the site where 329 car parks will be offered on opening next March.
Next door, Woolworths has a smaller 4812sq m store and fewer car parks and insiders say the new Pak’nSave is one of the cleverest moves Foodstuffs North Island has made, taking on the competition with a bigger, cheaper offering directly next door.
This will be one of the biggest for Foodstuffs North Island but the largest now under construction.
Christchurch’s new Pak’nSave Papanui by Foodstuffs South Island is 6260sq m.
The single-level Highland Park building is on the prominent corner of Highland Park Dr and Aviemore Dr.
6, 7, 8: Three new Four Square supermarkets to be opened at locations not yet announced by Foodstuffs North Island
No further details are out on these new stores yet but some are likely to be regional.
Four Square remains at the smaller end of Foodstuffs North Island’s offerings.
Despite the economic downturn, the expansion indicates strong trading continuing in the supermarket sector.
This was illustrated in Colliers’ advertising of Pak’nSave New Plymouth which referred to supermarket spending as “a non-discretionary/essential service”.
Foodstuffs North Island is now 102 years old and says it has more than 300 stores which employ around 24,000 staff.
It wants to merge with Foodstuffs South Island after co-op members of both entities voted overwhelmingly in support “because they can see the benefits for customers, communities, suppliers and teams”.
The Commerce Commission has extended the timeline on this till October 1.
Anne Gibson has been the Herald’s property editor for 24 years, written books and covered property extensively here and overseas.
The store, at 8100sq m, is the largest retail outlet in the South Island.