Stickman is branching out and dipping his toe into new and uncharted waters with a prototype small format super-savey store in bustling Levin. The fresh, new concept picks up where the discounter Write Price leaves off with an innovative approach to delivering New Zealand’s lowest prices.
PAK'nSAVE MINI will offer around 2,500 key products in a revamped layout. Compare this to a standard PAK'nSAVE; a big box retailer with around 8,000 SKU’s. It’s a whole new ball game.
Gwen Bailey, owner-operator, is excited at the prospect of trialling a PAK'nSAVE MINI. “I’ve been in the grocery business since 2006 – it’s a family tradition, but now I’m getting the chance to do something entirely different. PAK'nSAVE MINI packs great value essential everyday products into a smaller space at our renowned low, low prices in a store that’s been given a fresh new makeover. I look forward to hearing what our customers think.”
Grocery retailing is going through an exciting time according to Doug Cochrane, GM Retail at Foodstuffs North Island. “There’s a real sweet spot out there at the moment where population growth and a change in shopper tastes for products and service at a great value is putting pressure on companies like ours to move and adapt, at speed. We need to try new things and learn quickly. We’re trialling PAK'nSAVE MINI in Levin which should give us a good indication of how the model might be received elsewhere in the country.
“While some people may think 2,500 products is limiting customer choice, it’s a common format in other parts of the world. You’d be surprised to know that most of us tend to shop the same selection each week – branching out only when there’s a special occasion or a challenging recipe. The PAK'nSAVE MINI product range is carefully selected based on shopper insights and basket analysis where new stores like this one allow customers to pop in and out quickly as our lives get busier. It’s also a nimble model which can be tweaked on the fly without incurring additional costs,” adds Cochrane. “We’ll be watching day by day, making sure we’re satisfying customer demand all while driving our pricing down.”
Gwen says, “With the lowest prices in town, and an essential range of favourites including top notch produce and butchery products, my fabulous loyal team is looking forward to throwing open the doors to the wonderful people of Horowhenua. We just can’t wait.”
The Write Price supermarket will close Friday the 8th of September and reopen in its new bright yellow incarnation as PAK'nSAVE MINI at 8 am on Wednesday the 13th of September.
