After navigating global shipping delays that impacted the arrival of fridges and setbacks as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, Robert Sinclair is ready to bring his Four Square store to the Remuera community. Four Square runs in Sinclair's blood; his grandfather owned Four Square Balclutha in the 1950s/60s, one of the country's first self-service supermarkets.
The new store is located on the high-profile site at 561 Remuera Road, where supermarkets were last seen in the 1920s and 1960s. A team of 25 will be running the show, including three baristas and 16 local students.
“Buying an existing store, you take on an existing customer base, existing site, products, customer base and team. It is generally a more simple process. A new store starts with no sales, no customers, and many risks. However, it's an exciting challenge to be able to disrupt and influence people’s shopping habits. It’s extremely refreshing starting from scratch, albeit a little bit daunting,” said Sinclair.
Sinclair grew up in Christchurch and completed a Master of Commerce in business administration at the University of Canterbury, where he also studied Japanese. In his free time, he was an active skier and spent several seasons patrolling in Japan. His first major look into FMCG was with Lion in the Nathan Graduate programme, where he worked for four years. Sinclair was then with Constellation Wines for 19 years, and his final position was as the General Manager of Mobev New Zealand.
His Foodstuffs journey began in December 2020 when he was first approved as a store operator. Training began in New World Kumeu where he worked in each department to gain an understanding of the entire supermarket operation. Sinclair trained in eight Foodstuffs stores across two years, including Ohope Beach, Parakai, Waipu, Edmund Road, Molesworth, Hohoura Wharf, St Heliers and Oneroa. He was also involved in the opening of New World Ormiston and Four Square St Heliers. During this time, he submitted his expression of interest to several Four Square stores before becoming successful with Remuera in July 2022.
Sinclair and his two daughters now live in Auckland. Scarlett and Harriett both attend local public schools and are heavily involved in sports and arts. Five years ago, they convinced dad to manage and coach their football team and this year, he helps manage their 11th-grade football team.
In taking up his new role with Four Square, Sinclair is motivated to make a meaningful contribution to Foodstuffs’ purpose of ‘making sure New Zealanders get more out of life.’ He hopes to make life easier for Remuera locals by providing a quick, sustainable shop that can be done in under 200 steps and has the help of staff to deliver groceries to the boot of their car. The fresh department and joint ventures with food manufacturers are how Sinclair hopes to show the community that fresh can be done across breakfast, lunch, and dinner - the store already has the Lewis Road Milk Refillery ready to go.
“I’m looking forward to getting more involved in the Remuera community and understanding what locals want.”
The team at Foodstuffs played a huge part in helping Sinclair settle into his new role. The Four Square leadership team, headed by David Gordon, are transforming the brand and provided a fantastic support network. Lifelong friend and owner of New World Birkenhead Mark Brittenden and mentor Wade Brown of New World Kumeu encouraged Sinclair to become an owner-operator.
Four Square Remuera has been built to the latest award-winning store design and will have an exclusive offering tailored to the locality.
Look out for Four Square Remuera opening very soon.
