Supermarkets tight-lipped on plans in Napier and Havelock North

Supermarket chains are playing their cards close to their chests amid rumours of a possible Napier site closure and a rival operator’s imminent opening of a new supermarket in Havelock North.

The ever-present rumour of a closure of either of the neighbouring Countdown sites in Napier has been reignited by operator Woolworths NZ’s decision to close one of its sites across the road from each other in central Rotorua in May, as the giant continues a $400 million rebranding to Woolworths throughout the country.

It has said it coincides with the end of a lease, but it does have another supermarket in Rotorua, at Fairy Springs on State Highway 5 heading north out of the city.

The Napier sites are off Station and Dickens Sts and opened as one of the first in the North Island under the Countdown Foodmarket brand in 1988, and the other across the road where the Countdown Carlyle brand appeared in the renaming of a former Woolworths and Big Fresh supermarket in a buy-out about 20 years ago.

The two Countdown supermarket sites are across the road from each other in Napier. Photo / Warren Buckland

Rotorua and Napier are among five cities that have had two Countdown sites within 500m of each other, but in November Woolworths NZ reaffirmed it had no plans to sell either Napier operation.

Asked on Friday if there was any proposal to close either Napier site, Woolworths stuck to a statement, saying that while it doesn’t publicly share its “store network strategy”, all its stores in New Zealand will benefit from a store investment programme announced in July.

“Our Hastings store has recently been rebranded as Woolworths Hastings and our Carlyle store customers may already have noticed recent upgrades to the internal decor in the store,” the statement said. “All our Hawke’s Bay customers can look forward to an improved shopping experience in their local area.”

There was no further comment.

Meanwhile no announcement is yet being made in relation to the opening of the New World Havelock North supermarket. It is privately operated, but part of the Foodstuffs chain, although it has been advertising on social media this week for staff for when it opens “soon”.

However, without a supermarket is Flaxmere, where the New World supermarket closed about six weeks ago. Flaxmere’s population is estimated to be 13,000.