A Super Value store is to replace Wanganui's Gonville New World as two large retail groups vie for the city's grocery dollar. Gonville New World store manager Brendon Jones said he received an email on Friday saying the lease on the store would end in a month, because another party wantedthe building. He had expected the short term lease to carry on until Wanganui's new Pak 'N Save opened and its current Write Price Foodbarn building was upgraded to a New World supermarket ? possibly as soon as August. The early end to the lease disappointed and surprised him. He was concerned for the jobs of his 40 staff, about half of whom are full-time. They were to have gone on to work in the new New World. "It's been a long few days, and a few sleepless nights," he said. He informed staff of the situation on Monday and had arranged for the creation of 10 new jobs at Write Price to tide some over. He was also working on getting Winz help and providing grocery vouchers for others. Write Price, Pak 'N Save, Four Square and New World are independently operated stores that are part of Foodstuffs (Wellington) Co-operative Society Ltd. Its rival grocery group is Progressive Enterprises Ltd, which includes Woolworths, Foodtown, Countdown and Wholesale Distributors Ltd which trades as Super Value and Fresh Choice. Wholesale Distributors general manager Fred Hawthorne said the Progressive group was putting a Super Value store into the Gonville shopping centre. It would be similar to a New World. Other Super Value stores were mainly in the South Island, with only six in the north. The nearest to Wanganui was one at Bell Block, New Plymouth. Mr Hawthorne said the new store would look to employ Gonville New World staff. "I need to arrange to sit down with all of them over the coming week." It would take three weeks to give the building a new fit out and the Super Value could be ready to open before the end of April. Mr Jones said loyal Castlecliff and Gonville customers would be pleased to still have a supermarket in the shopping centre. Gonville New World opened in the late 1970s and has 3000 to 4000 customers a week.
