Supermarket rival moves in next door at Regent

MasterChef 2011 contestant and Countdown ambassador Jax Hamilton, centre, cooks up a storm with customer Carol Carter, left, and Countdown staff member Sylvia Ma. Photo / Michael Cunningham

It was expected to herald a price war and it seems customers at Whangarei's newest supermarket - Countdown Regent - were delighted to be at the frontline of the action when the store opened.

The new store, which is just metres away from rival New World Regent and is roughly twice the size of the Kensington Countdown it is replacing, opened yesterday, with store manager Paul Ah Chong promising plenty of good deals for customers as he aims to lift patronage above levels at the Kensington store.

Mr Ah Chong said he was relieved after all the work getting the store ready and happy at the successful opening and smiles from shoppers.

"It's been very busy," Mr Ah Chong said an hour or so after the 8am opening.

He said the Regent store had to open an hour later than the Kensington store did because of its liquor licence, which was issued under new laws that aim to reduce opening times for places that sell alcohol.

The new store also has wider aisles than those in the old store and Countdown spokeswoman Jess Miller said the company had to move from the Kensington site as its lease was coming to an end and there was no right of renewal.

"We were fortunate to find this site so close and it's given us the chance to build a bigger, more modern store with a wider range for customers," Ms Miller said.

"If we hadn't been able to find this site we would have closed for good."

Shoppers Bev Hutchings and Helen Cuff said they were very pleased with opening-day bargains on offer, both particularly impressed by the cheap fruit and vege prices. Ms Hutchings was a Countdown Kensington regular and said she would keep coming to the new store.

"It's beautiful, nice and big and airy. Everything seems to be well set out and there are more options and some very good specials," she said.

Ms Cuff was delighted with the prices of the broccoli, cauliflower and other veges. "And the bananas are so cheap. $1 a kilogram is very good," she said.

Regent New World owner Todd Leathem said he welcomed the competition from Countdown and felt it could only be good for shoppers.

"We welcome competition as good for the area and for us it will bring even more customers into the area and it will give Countdown customers a better experience in their store," Mr Leathem said.