Change is afoot at Devonport New World, and the store’s owner-operator couldn’t be more excited.
Auckland, New Zealand, 2016-Jun-27 — /EPR Retail News/ — “The most exciting thing,” John Ashton says, “is we’re getting a completely new fresh food aisle, with new bakery and new service counters for deli, seafood and meat, and a new hot food cabinet.”
“It’ll all be brand new and I’m sure our shoppers are going to love it almost as much as me!” he says.
Monday 27 June marks the start of the build, in what is the fourth and final planned upgrade for the store which is located in the iconic Devonport town centre, on Auckland’s North Shore.
Ashton says the first three stages involved upgrades to the produce section and air conditioning, and installation of what was then the country’s first ‘green’ CO2 supermarket refrigeration system.
Now, he says the focus is on ‘freshness’ – and not just fresh food either.
“We’ll also be giving the inside of the store a fresh lick of paint, too, as part of a total revamp of the interior décor. The ceiling and floor tiles will be replaced, plus we’ll be getting new signage and energy saving LED strip lighting that will brighten up the whole store.”
He says the first part of the latest upgrade will be the creation of a new bakery, including new ovens.
“Unfortunately that does mean we have to close our bakery for four months. But we’ll still have a good supply of products baked daily by our same bakery staff, at a nearby New World store.”
Work will then begin on the rest of the fresh food aisle, transforming the existing deli, seafood, and meat counters into better-looking, more functional service counters.
“A new hot food cabinet will be added as well, which will be more energy efficient than the current one, and keep the food tasting better, longer.”
“Making room for all that does mean we have to move our milk fridge around to join up with the chilled foods, but that’s a natural fit, food wise.”
There’s good news for wine and cheese lovers, too, with the wine aisle’s layout changing to make it easier to select a good wine, a new chiller to keep it cool, and a separate fridge for specialty cheeses.
Topping it all off, the checkouts, customer service desk and Lotto counter will be upgraded with the latest technology and designs.
“It all adds up to a lot of work to be done over the next four months,” Ashton says, “but we will do everything in our power to ensure it’s a smooth transition for both our customers and our staff.”
He says the entire refurbishment is expected be completed by December, just in time for Christmas, by when Ashton says he expects to be feeling “like all my Christmases have come at once.”
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Source: Foodstuffs