Almost 100 eager shoppers waited out in the rain this morning for the official opening of Foodstuffs North Island’s new $73 million New World supermarket in Pt Chevalier.
Once it opened, many took the chance to snap up Smeg cookware, part of a promotional offer, which has been running low at other supermarkets.
The New World was originally due to open on September 9 but was brought forward to today after the fire at New World Victoria Park on June 17.
Local iwi Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei gave a karakia followed by speeches by Foodstuffs North Island chief executive Chris Quin and store owner Matt Mullins.
The store, built on the ex-RSA site at 1132 Great North Rd, will be operated by Mullins and his wife Nicole, who was also in attendance for the opening.
The 2752sq m supermarket offers 105 car parks, six team member checkouts and eight self-scan checkouts.
Mullins said the team is ready to make a great first impression.
“Point Chevalier is a vibrant community, and we’re pumped to add more choice for locals. We’ve been counting down the days, stocking shelves, training the team, practising our processes and making sure everything’s ready behind the scenes,” Mullins said.
“We can’t wait to welcome locals and start building connections in the community.”
Around 120 staff will work at the Pt Chevalier store. Many of those have come from the burnt Victoria Park store where all 189 workers were made redundant following the fire.
New World Pt Chevalier is the biggest investment for Foodstuffs North Island after the frenetic February opening of the $100m Pak’nSave Highland Park, East Auckland.
Quin said the early opening has been a team effort, and that he was looking forward to seeing the store become a key part of the neighbourhood for many years to come.
“Our property, retail ops, merchandise and supply chain teams, as-well-as our contractors, have pulled out all the stops so we can open the doors early and support local customers sooner,” Quin said.
“As a family-owned co-operative, our grocers live and work in the communities they serve, and we’re committed to bringing customers great value, friendly service, and a shopping experience that reflects local needs.”
With plenty of shoppers in attendance for the opening, many took in the surroundings as they made their way through the supermarket aisles.
One shopper who spoke with the Herald lived roughly two minutes away, and said the store felt “really big”.
“It’s got a lot of variety, a lot of stuff that I haven’t seen on the shelves in the supermarket near here, which is amazing,” the shopper said.
“I’ve been waiting for the store for a year, watching it being built, so very excited for it to finally get here.”
She did use the New World Victoria Park supermarket before it burned down, but lived closer to the New Lynn location.
“New World’s a great store. It always looks good, it’s always got a lot of stuff in it. The staff are great, the whole experience is actually really good, and that’s why I prefer to go to it.”
Many shoppers the Herald witnessed left with no groceries, but did leave with the popular Smeg cookware in hand.
It’s part of a promotional campaign being run at New World supermarkets, but stock for certain items has been running low.
Quin said they originally ordered 70,000 units of Smeg cookware for the promotion, but had to order more to accommodate the demand.
Another shopper the Herald spoke to said he was particularly excited about the pre-8am opening time, which was convenient considering they lived just down the road.
He also used to shop at New World Victoria Park, and said they had a specific dog food he liked to get.
While there is a Woolworths supermarket near the new location, that the shopper said he might go to from time to time, the convenience of the New World was hard to ignore.
“I think it’s bloody important and quite exciting, not just for the local Pt Chev people, but also with what happened at Vic Park and people out further afield as well. So yeah exciting times,” the shopper said.
Foodstuffs North Island retail (FSNI) and property general manager Lindsay Rowles told the Herald in April that it anticipated around 12,000 shoppers a week at the new Pt Chevalier store, each spending under $200 on each visit.
Pt Chevalier has a dedicated Woolworths, but the nearest FSNI supermarkets are the smaller New World Mt Albert and the large Pak’nSave Mt Albert.
Tom Raynel is a multimedia business journalist for the Herald, covering small business, retail and tourism.