Countdown Taupō South opened on October 20th, 2022. After only five months, Manager Jess Stubbs is always busy, with at least 10,000 customers coming through the doors each week.
Stubbs grew up in Hawkes Bay, where his journey with Countdown started as a teen cleaning the meat room after school. A chef by trade, he spent 15 years travelling and working before returning home. He was drawn back to Countdown and applied to be the Grocery Manager for Countdown Bethlehem. Then, considering himself quite nomadic, he worked his way up through six different stores all over the North Island before taking the latest opportunity in Taupō. The opportunities Coutndown provided him allowed for growth both geographically and personally.
“I absolutely love everything there is about Taupō. In fact, I managed the other Countdown Taupō store for a long time before moving around the motu. When I got asked to move back for this opportunity, I knew it was meant to be. With Taupō being such a tourist destination, I find there are so many international travellers that come into our store, and I really love the variety of people we get to meet,” explained Stubbs.
The community has been incredibly welcoming to Stubbs and the new Countdown store, but the manager has already noticed some changes in shopping habits. Inflation has seen customers spending more time in-store, ensuring they are getting the best bargains, calculating prices in the aisles and being cautious in their decision making. He has also noticed an increase in purchases of fresh fruit and vegetables. Most notable, however, has been the return of tourists. Taupō has returned to serving customers from all over the world, and Stubbs loves watching the tourism scene grow.
“If you love what you do, you won’t work a day in your life, and that is how I truly feel.”
Some exciting developments in the industry revolve around sustainability. Stubbs is looking forward to watching the evolution of the Countdown Green Star stores. With solar panels, LED lighting, EV charging points and electric trucks, he considered them to be the future of supermarkets.
While the Taupō South is not yet a Green Star, Stubbs values sustainability and hopes to see it transition one day. For now, the store features electronic ticketing, fridge and freezer doors that reduce electricity and shopping trolleys made from 71 recycled milk bottles each. The store also doesn’t sell many paper bags, as customers bring their own.
For anyone just starting with Countdown, Stubbs encourages them to make the most of the varying roles and growth opportunities. He considers Coutndown to be more than a supermarket; there are opportunities in IT, customer care, produce warehouses, distribution centres and in-store, and you never know where you could end up. The teen that worked in the meat room never thought he would end up as a Store Manager.
“I absolutely love my job and my team. We have around 90 staff in our store, and they are just wonderful to work with. If I’m excited, my team are excited, and that makes coming to work every day not feel like a job at all.”
