The wait is over for new and improved Countdown Waiheke

26 July 2016: Countdown’s much anticipated new Waiheke store has been officially opened today by Green MP and Waiheke local Denise Roche.

The new 3,490sqm store will have a team of over 100, have more than 12,000 new product lines, and will open as a plastic shopping bag free supermarket.

The opening featured a presentation of a $500 trolley of groceries for the local Waiheke foodbank, which the store works with on a regular basis through Countdown’s Food Rescue programme.

Green MP Denise Roche says there has been a lot of anticipation on the island about the new Countdown supermarket.

"Waiheke locals have been waiting patiently for this new store and no doubt we’ll all really appreciate the upgraded shopping environment.

“The bigger store also means more jobs - and we're pleased to see Countdown continuing to be plastic-bag-free at their new premises," Ms Roche says.

Store Manager Dave Collo says he is excited to be a part of this new Countdown, and can’t wait to hear what his customers think of the bigger store and all of its additional features.

“There has been a big build up to today’s opening and the amount of effort that has gone into getting the store ready today has been phenomenal. Countdown Waiheke brings an additional 20 jobs, bringing the total team to around 100 and we’re proud to welcome those new team members into the Countdown team.

“We think our customers will love our new store, which has all the features you would expect to see, plus a few added extras such as an expansive fresh product department, full production bakery, self-service checkouts, a Lotto counter, and sushi,” says Mr Collo.

Countdown’s Managing Director, Dave Chambers, says the business is excited to be opening the new store in Waiheke, which is a huge improvement for Waiheke customers.

“The new store is about 150 per cent larger than the old store, has a massive new range of products at everyday low prices, along with some exciting new features like, sushi, Lotto, and a full service bakery” Mr Chambers says.

The new Countdown Waiheke store will also be plastic shopping bag free, which will work the same way it has been in the current store. Waiheke customers have really got behind the initiative so far by bringing in their own bags when they shop with Countdown.

Countdown Waiheke store has been carefully designed to fit in with the unique island environment and will be one of Countdown’s most sustainable stores. Rainwater will be collected on the store’s roof and the store will also recycle grey water through an onsite waste water treatment system, which will be redistributed in a native wetland at the back of the site.

Waiheke is also part of Countdown’s Food Rescue programme, which has donated $3.5 million worth of food to food banks around New Zealand in the last year.

ENDS

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