Wellsford store opening!

Welcome everyone. On Friday 1 December, we opened our latest new shop, in Wellsford!

Wellsford is a historic farming community to the north of Auckland, right on the border with the Northland region. It’s also a popular rest stop for travellers heading north to Whangārei and beyond. It made perfect sense for a new shop, and our location – in a new travel service centre on the State Highway 1 and 16 intersection – provides plenty of passing trade.

All of this means the shop has been busy from day one!

New shop partner Tim Zhang reflected positively on the opening, saying that

“I’m so happy to be here in Wellsford. I’ve been with St. Pierre’s for more than 15 years, working at various shops around Auckland before I became the Warkworth Grange partner 7 years ago. Opening a second shop is a unique challenge, but with the support of head office and our area manager Lili, our team is managing well.

The Grange has been really busy and we have built a strong team to keep up with demand. We do especially well on weekends and holiday times – but less so since the new motorway opened. The Wellsford shop will help capture some of that through traffic – but also introduce St. Pierre’s food to a new community.

I believe that Wellsford is a quiet, close-knit community at heart, and we have worked to hire local people who know the area for the new shop. Our new staff have worked hard to learn fast, well supported by a few staff coming up from Warkworth, and customers have been really glad to see us open. The welcome has been fantastic from the whole area. The tamariki from Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Ngaringaomatariki even came into town to perform a haka to mark the opening – wow! It was such a powerful performance, we were all really moved. Kia ora and kia kaha to you all”

Director of Property Costa Katsoulis was very happy at the successful opening, commenting that

“This was our fastest-ever shop opening, but you’d never know. No corners were cut, and everything looks brilliant. It is a tribute to how well our team kept their focus on the customer experience while finding creative solutions to maximise our presence in a small space. I’d like to thank General Manager of Property Steve, Facilities Manager Cris and Design Manager Alina for their brilliant work.

The shop is also a milestone for St. Pierre’s – it’s the first time a partner has managed two shops. Normally, one partner focuses on one shop, growing their team and links with the local community. However, Warkworth and Wellsford complement each other nicely – and most importantly, Tim and Eva have done a brilliant job growing their team since opening the existing Warkworth shop a few years ago. It just made sense for them to run Wellsford as well. A huge congratulations to Tim and Eva, and all the best to the new team members.

We’re always on the lookout for new locations to provide our fresh, healthy food to new St. Pierre’s fans. After the big openings in Ruakura and Timaru, we have had three successful openings in 2023. Look out for many more in 2024, everyone!”

It’s a St. Pierre’s tradition that Director Nick Katsoulis fires up the crowd before the opening day sushi giveaway. However, Nick came down with COVID, so General Manager Retail Operations Takeshi Takada stepped up to do his first opening speech. Even after 20+ years with St. Pierre’s, Takeshi was nervous about filling Nick’s shoes – but we’re happy to report that it went well (and that Nick is recovering well!)

Design Manager Alina Nicholls spoke highly of the new shop, commenting that

“We’re very pleased with the new shop. It’s a small space in an existing food court, a kiosk format we don’t come across too often. Nevertheless, the design brilliantly showcases our brand presence – customers know they’re at a St. Pierre’s the moment they see it.

Shopfitters (Datum Projects) did an amazing job. As this opportunity came up in September and we wanted to be open for the summer rush., it was one of the quickest projects we have turned around. Big thanks to the St Pierre’s Property Team, Datum, our suppliers and in-house support.  Everyone involved did a superb job under serious time pressure, creating a shop which in no way compromises on our brand and design language. It was a great team effort.”

We believe that the Wellsford shop is already a landmark in this important area. The new shop is another big milestone for the company, so if you’re staying nearby or just passing through heading north or south, do stop by and see Tim and his team – see you there soon!