A group of local investors has finally bought Hawera’s abandoned New World building, but their plans are yet to be disclosed. The next few weeks will be critical to deciding the site’s fate, which might bring new opportunities for the community after months of neglect.
The supermarket closed its doors for the last time on 31 August 2014. At the time, Foodstuffs North Island Ltd explained that, due to the actual size of the town's population, it would have become ‘increasingly tough to support three supermarkets’, two of which were a New World and a Pak’nSave store.
Hawera New World also hit the news in 2010, when its owners discovered that the checkout manager had stolen almost $100,000 in cash over a year-long period to feed her gambling addiction.
HAWERA’S ABANDONED STORE BUILDING FINALLY BOUGHT
