Tony (Hornby)

Welcome to our latest St. Pierre’s partner feature!

Today we’re in Hornby, a growing suburb of western Christchurch, visiting Tony. He’s now the shop partner there, but he has had a long career with St. Pierre’s! Originally from China, Tony has been in NZ for 17 years.

“In China, I was an electrician and worked my way up to manage an electrical products trading company for four years, then I moved to NZ for the lifestyle in 2006. The first food I had in NZ was teriyaki chicken at St. Pierre’s South City. I fell in love with the flavour and joined the company a year later. After two years at South City shop, I was Northlands assistant manager for five years, and then back to South City as the manager. The shop was always busy, especially the wholesale department.”

When the company was planning the new Hornby shop, it was time for Tony to take on his next challenge.

“I was very confident the Hornby shop would succeed, but know it would take time. It’s a new mall in a new part of town, where our brand recognition was quite low. We had to start small, making sure to do the little things well like detailed customer service, and improve sales bit by bit. I was inspired by talking to success stories such as Jack in Te Rapa, but knew it’s a step by step process. As assistant manager I first wanted to become a successful manager, and then step up to be a successful partner.”

Tony has worked to build the business from in inside out, by growing a strong team which consistently works well together.

“I focus on finding and keeping great people. My sushi assistant manager and bento manager have both been with me for years, and crew turnover is low, which makes my life easier in many ways. I put a lot of time into staff training, but it’s not a one-way process. I also talk to staff about their dreams, hobbies and family situation. I’m happy to hear both what worries and inspires them, because I want to work out what I can do to help. The more I can engage and encourage the staff, the happier everyone will be.”

Engagement also extends to celebrating success as a team!

“We’re all food lovers, so we come together as a team over food. For staff birthdays, I bring in cake to share, and we mark the shop opening anniversary with a team dinner we bring and share food at. I also make sure there are lots of yummy snacks at team bonus meetings to create a fun atmosphere. I make sure staff know what the bonus targets are and what they have to do each day, so everyone loves celebrating at bonus time. It’s important to celebrate milestones and success to motivate the team.”

Of course, customer relations are also important, and little by little Tony is building strong links with the local community.

“On an individual level we work to recognise our regular customers, remembering their names and favourite orders. We also engage with sports clubs such as rugby, football and cycling, who often order our platters. We sometimes sponsor platters for their events, which definitely drives loyalty. I also keep in touch with customers who make large orders for gatherings like the A&P Show and weddings – Christchurch people love their big events!”

Tony is proud of his journey and achievements, but there is still plenty more to come. He has laid the foundations of a strong team and continued growth in a developing part of town. At St. Pierre’s, we’re proud to have amazing people like him on our team! Tony personifies our culture of being “people first”, supporting each other and celebrating success. Next time you’re in Christchurch, drop by to say hi – and here’s to everyone across the St. Pierre’s Group aiming high!