Ning (Hastings)

Welcome to the next in our series about St. Pierre’s assistant managers!

Today we’re heading just down State Highway 2 in Hastings, talking to Ning.

Born in Thailand, Ning’s family know her as Supattra Rattanaworametha – but everyone in the St. Pierre’s family calls her “Ning”.

When she first came to NZ, she was working in an environment with many fellow Thais, so she set herself a high goal: challenging herself to improve her English by working in a customer-facing job with people from all over the world. This led her to start at Hastings St. Pierre’s around four years ago.

She clearly made an impact, as after only about three months she became shop partner Hiromi’s first assistant manager! But as Ning explains “it was really hard at first. There was a lot of training, a lot of new things to remember and skills to master, at the same time as working to improve my English. It was very tiring.”

One advantage for Ning was that she is a very practical, creative person. “In my spare time, I enjoy drawing, crafting, and fruit carving.” The skill of using a knife to turn pieces of fruit into beautiful artworks is not well known in NZ, but the results are breath-taking. Successful fruit carving takes foresight, attention to detail and very steady hands – all of which are valuable skills in a sushi kitchen!

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Despite her success at work and improving her language skills, Ning is not resting on her laurels. She has set an ambitious goal – to buy a house in Hastings together with her mother. “I’m very grateful for the St. Pierre’s profit-sharing programme, which I’m setting aside to help buy a house. Our goal is to purchase in 2022. At the same time, I’m also working to send money to help family back in Thailand, so every dollar counts.”

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St. Pierre’s has a strong culture of being “people first”, supporting each other as we set challenging goals. Ning has already achieved a lot in a short time, and I’m sure she will continue to reach new goals! I you’re visiting Hastings, or just passing through, be sure to stop by and see Ning and her team. And here’s to everyone across the St. Pierre’s Group aiming high!