Supermarket buys land to expand

One of Whangarei's largest supermarkets is expanding.

Foodstuffs – which owns Pak'nSave, New World and Four Square stores – has bought the adjoining Ford and Mazda dealership site and will be expanding its existing Pak'nSave store and adding more carparking.

The deal – for an undisclosed sum – will see the Pacific Motor Group move from the site some time next year.

Foodstuff's general manager of property development Angela Bull says when the dealership relocates Foodstuffs will expand the Pak'nSave store and add more carparking.

"We know a lot of people visit the store and we want to make it a bigger and better for everybody.

"We are developing an exciting plan."

The purchase does not include the Mill Liquor or the Mad Butcher sites on the western boundary of Pacific Ford.

Ms Bull would not say if any other new stores were planned for Whangarei.

GIS information shows the Pacific Motor Group site's capital valuation is $4.4 million.

Pak'nSave came out on top as New Zealand's cheapest supermarket in a Consumer NZ survey last month.

The chain has dominated the survey for the past 11 years and this year it was 6 to 10 percent cheaper than its nearest competitor in each of the seven centres surveyed. The survey did not include the Whangarei store.

Expansion plans welcomed

When the Leader visited the Walton St Pak'nSave last Wednesday just before 11am, the carpark was full.

For shopper Warwick Bastin, 67, the proposed extended carparking might be a good idea but says it won't do him much good.

"It will be great for some people but all the way over there is too far for me to walk with my shopping. And the place will get busier."

Sharon Sarten, 48, who comes once a week to the supermarket to do a big shop, thinks it's about time the supermarket provided more carparking.

"It seems like the smart thing to do. I usually have to drive around for 10 minutes waiting for someone to leave their space," she says.

- Whangarei Leader