Steve Payne and his wife Jody had always wanted to live in the mountains, so when the opportunity to relocate to a beautiful part of the country presented itself, they grabbed it. With over 25 years in the supermarket industry, mainly in Auckland, Payne is now the Store Manager of Countdown Alexandra.
Payne participated in Countdown’s dedicated operations leader training before being offered his new role. The Store Manager in Training programme varies between three and 12 months and allowed him to focus on development in all areas to ensure seamless supermarket operations.
The long-awaited store opened its doors on November 17th, but before that, Payne was most excited about getting to know his new team.
“It’s always the best part! There are around 50 of us in total, and most are new to the supermarket business, so it’s been a great experience getting to show them the ropes and shape a fantastic experience for our customers.
The Alexandra store is state-of-the-art and offers a fresh modern experience. Since opening its doors, customer feedback has been great, and the team has enjoyed settling in and getting into a good rhythm with each other and the community.
Inflation has been noticeable in-store. Payne can see customers looking for more affordable options. He has planned well with suppliers to ensure customers have good deals on all the Christmas favourites. More widely, he said the whole business is working hard to keep food as affordable as possible for kiwis.
Over the holidays, Payne expects a strong flow of visitors into Alexandra and the wider region for Summer. Customers tend to look for more seasonal, convenient options while making the most of the warm weather.
To finish, Payne left us with some advice for people just starting out in the supermarket industry.
“I’d tell anyone starting out to make sure they take advantage of every opportunity that they’re given - you never know where it might lead you and what learnings you’ll be able to take forward into your career.”
