Ghost aisles: Flaxmere New World supplies empty out ahead of closure

Some of the aisles of a soon-to-be-shut New World supermarket in Hawke’s Bay are eerily bare, with a councillor saying the shopping experience is now filled with sadness.

Evidence of the impending Flaxmere New World closure on Sunday is everywhere.

Once filled with choices, the shelves now contain a basic selection - bread, milk, toilet paper, canned goods, dairy products, baking products - and a local who visited this week noted there was still a decent selection of beer available.

Flaxmere New World shelves are empty as the store closes on February 25.

A month ago Foodstuffs announced it would not renew the lease in March, due to the inability to upgrade the ageing building to its standard.

When it closes for good the Flaxmere community will be without a suitable alternative in their growing suburb of 11,000 people, although the Hastings District Council is in negotiations with Woolworths and others.

Flaxmere councillor Henry Heke said he was disappointed and frustrated with the way Foodstuffs had handled the closure, saying that after the January announcement, workers in the store had almost immediately begun to pull stock off shelves.

“There is hardly a range of products in the store this week. It’s very sad.”

New World Flaxmere has some stock on the shelves in preparation for closing, but some of it has been cleared out over the past month.

He said he maintained his commitment to see Flaxmere get what it deserves, but permanent solutions were only speculation.

“If it is a new supermarket then fine, if it’s a food corp or smaller commercial stores like Mad Butcher, a greengrocer, or a vegetable mart then that’s beautiful.”

A Foodstuffs spokesperson said the store “still has all the necessities”.

“Reduced-to-clear items are being put at the front of the store so they’re easy to find. Some parts of the store do look empty, this is because the team has been condensing the remaining stock into one area to make it easier for customers to shop the store,” the spokesperson said.

“When the store closes its doors on Sunday at noon, all chilled, frozen, butchery and fresh produce is being donated to a local charity, and a few of the team will stay on to do the work required to meet the terms of the lease agreement with the landlord.”

A Foodstuffs spokesperson said the store “still has all the necessities”. Photo / Foodstuffs

Business owners Bob and Sunny Singh, of the Swansea Island Food Mart, say they will be expanding their store into a “mini-supermarket” style space to meet demand where possible.

Buses regularly travel from Flaxmere to Hastings, but there have been calls for more efficient and reliable services from the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council.

Heke said there would now be careful assessment of how the closure actually impacted the suburb.

“On Wednesday, March 6 there will be a public hui to gather information and whanau needs after the actual closure to understand the impact,” he said.

A former employee of the Flaxmere New World said in its heyday the store’s success was driven by the community.

“I don’t see why they can’t forfeit a bit of money to upgrade. It’s been neglected for many years and it was a ticking time bomb.”

He felt the supermarket building would become a place of loitering and cause issues in the future.

“It wasn’t what we wanted. It seems very un-unified, disjointed and a collapse between the community and what they want.”

Michaela Gower joined Hawke’s Bay Today in 2023 and is based out of the Hastings newsroom. She covers Dannevirke and Hawke’s Bay news and has a love for sharing stories about farming and rural communities.