Four and a half years after being severely compromised by the Canterbury earthquake, New World Redcliffs in Christchurch has been completely rebuilt and reopened its doors in October. The new threestorey outlet, covering a floor area of 1700 sqm, created over 100 new job opportunities.
“The Eastern suburbs have been through a lot since the Canterbury earthquake, and being able to bring back a much needed supermarket to the community is just wonderful,” said Julia Spence, owner and operator of New World Redcliffs. The new store has a modern and eco-friendly design allowing for plenty of natural light. Five full-service and five self-service checkouts were installed. Foodstuffs South Island has invested $108 million in an earthquake rebuild programme that is gradually bringing its damaged stores back to life. New World Redcliffs is the latest in a series of four rebuilds and three new builds that include other New Worlds in St Martins, Kaiapoi, Ilam and Wigram, as well as Pak’nSaves in Wainoni and Rangiora.
All in all, the seven rebuilt supermarkets provided 1135 jobs, and the co-operative has further projects underway; New Worlds in Ferry Road and Prestons are set to open, respectively, in mid-2016 and early 2017.
