Wiebe van der Veen, Countdown Mt Eden store manager, outside the upgraded, larger store. Photo/Doug Sherring
Wiebe van der Veen, Countdown Mt Eden store manager, outside the upgraded, larger store. Photo/Doug Sherring
Renovations to one of Auckland's busiest supermarkets, expanded by a third to now be a half hectare, will be marked at an event next week but a community leader says the store is now too big.
Countdown Mt Eden, the Valley Rd shop with an average weekly customer count of33,000, has been pushed out from 3560sq m to 5000sq m or a half-hectare.
Wiebe van der Veen, store manager, said another 50 people had been employed to staff the larger supermarket, operating in the expanded format since September.
On Tuesday, Countdown executives are due to mark the work's completion, a major investment on the leasehold site owned by the Melanesian Mission Trust Board.
Peter Haynes, Albert Eden Local Board chairman, complained about the store growing so much.
"I know that I'm not the only person in my neighbourhood - Mt Eden/Balmoral - who preferred the supermarket as it was and who now finds that there's a lot more walking required to do the same shop," Haynes said.
But he is happy with the Valley Rd basalt rock wall which was a local victory.
"I doubt very much whether they would have thought of the rock wall," he said referring to Countdown "but they were very happy to incorporate that into their plans.
"As it is, I think that the rock wall shows very tangibly a concern for the local, and will be perceived that way by the local people."
Demolition of two residences on the site was also initially opposed by some locals due to heritage value and the encroachment of commercial into a residential area, Haynes said, and questions were raised about a big car park expansion.
Auckland Council found the building had little heritage value, Haynes said.
The upgrade has brought an extended deli section, van der Veen said, a bigger health food section, new meat and seafood counters, new artisan bread ranges, bigger fruit and vegetable section, new pharmacy with Countdown's standard $3 prescription charge, bigger entrance, wider aisles, 94 extra car parks and a new cafe.
Adrian Walker, Countdown general property manager, said the Mt Eden store was one of the busiest.
A new wooden fence has been built on the residential boundary in an attempt to reduce noise for residents.Construction work started there in January and landscaping work is underway in the carpark.
Adrian Walker, Countdown's property general manager, said the store had operated since the 1970s.
"Countdown Mt Eden is one of our busiest stores. But the area has grown and changed so we've also had to change to meet the needs of customers here. That's what has driven the significant refurbishment we've just undergone here. We've widened the aisles and increased and improved parking, which I know will be a welcome sight to our customers," Walker said.
Countdown Mt Eden is one of our busiest stores. But the area has grown and changed so we've also had to change to meet the needs of customers here.
"At the same time we've reviewed our offer to focus on having the products that our customers here really want to see. Countdown Mt Eden is another example of our work to tailor offers specific to customers, and also bring new and smaller suppliers to this more targeted audience - for example, Rocket Kitchen," he said.
"One of the new features our customers will love is the dedicated space at the front of the store for our most popular items such as bread and milk. It's a really simple change, but one which our customers who are in a rush will love, especially if they are just popping in for some milk.
"There are two schools right nearby and we get a lot of parents popping in for these products during pick-up and drop-off; likewise we are right on the bus route - it's very much about making it easy for customers," Walker said.
Rival supermarket business Foodstuffs says it has spent more than $80 million on four new stores in the last four months, including a replacement Papakura store.
