Author: Glen McCabe

Hey everyone! Have you heard? This Friday 29^th September, we’re taking four managers on a one-week trip to Japan! Read on to find out who is going and what experiences they’ll have!

In July, 21 management team members applied, and after careful evaluation, the People & Partnership Dept. selected:

• Annie (Northlink, Christchurch)
• Crystal (Karaka, Auckland)
• Toon (Market Room, Auckland)
• Yohanes (Rotorua)

Here are some of the amazing places they’ll be going between 29^th September and Friday 6^th October.

Oh and don’t forget the food! They’ll be enjoying…

In our next article, we’ll profile the participants and what they want to learn in Japan – look out for it soon!

Welcome everyone. Recently, we opened our latest new shop, in Timaru!

           
Timaru is a historic port city in South Canterbury, about two hours drive south of Christchurch. It’s a vibrant community and the focus of a fertile agricultural area, and like many regional centres in NZ, the locals’ taste in food is diversifying. It made perfect sense as a new shop location, and our location – in a new retail development on the old showgrounds site alongside State Highway 1 – provides plenty of foot traffic and passing trade.

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

New shop partner Danny Chen reflected positively on the opening, saying that

“I’m so happy to be here in Timaru. I’ve been with St. Pierre’s for more than 15 years, working at various shops around Auckland such as Pakuranga, Manukau, Newmarket before I became the Albany partner. I liked living in Auckland so it was a big change to come here – but really worth it! It has been such a great ride so far.

The new shop has been so busy, the main challenges have been building a strong team while also keeping up with demand. We sold as much on the first day as we did some weeks in Albany!

Customers have been really glad to see us open and our staff have worked hard to learn fast. I really appreciate the help we’ve had opening the shop. Two area managers (Kazuyo and Mandy), two shop partners (Yoshi, Phillip), several managers (Bambang, Kei, Toshi and Yasu) plus lots of experienced staff came from Christchurch, Ashburton and even Auckland for the first couple of weeks.

I thought maybe I had asked for too much help – but we needed it! Plus their experience really helped in training our new staff, who are fast learners, so as a team we’re improving every day. It has been hard work so far, but through a real team effort the shop has run smoothly and customers are happy, which is what’s most important.”

Director Nick Katsoulis was very happy at the successful opening, commenting that

“The store has been so busy, the opening has beyond belief. The successful opening in Ruakura set high expectations, but the amazing customer response in Timaru on opening day saw sales beat the Ruakura record by 50%! And sales have stayed at a very strong level in the weeks since, justifying the effort Danny and his team have put in.

Timaru is a vibrant small city with a strong community that responds positively to new developments, including St. Pierre’s. Partner selection was challenging, as the city of Timaru was off the radar for many St. Pierre’s staff. We promoted the opportunity internally, and Danny – an existing successful partner – saw the strength of the opportunity and took it.

We’ve also had lots of brilliant job applicants, so we were very fortunate to have a strong team from day one. We’re pleased to be open and offering quick, fresh, healthier choices to everyone in and passing through South Canterbury. A big congratulations to the grand opening team and all the best to the new members.”

General Manager of Property Oliver Shaw spoke highly of the new shop, commenting that

“We’re thrilled with the new shop. It’s a modern, inviting space, exemplifying our new design language and making customers instantly aware they’re in a St. Pierre’s shop, even if they couldn’t see our iconic signage.

It’s also in a fantastic location. It has strong local traffic from the Countdown and Bunnings and new suburbs, plus a lot of through traffic on the main road, particularly at busy holiday times. Above all we’ve had a lot of locals asking when we’re opening here, and true to their word, they’re flocking here. This shop will be busy all day, every day, I’m sure of it!”

We believe that the Timaru shop is already a landmark in this growing area. The new shop is another big milestone for the company, so if you’re staying in South Canterbury or just passing through, do stop by and see Danny and his team – see you there soon!

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Welcome! This week, our new shop in Timaru is opening, but on 14 June, we opened our first new shop of 2023.

We’re now open in Ruakura, a fast-growing area on Hamilton’s eastern fringe. Previously known for the University of Waikato and dairy farms, Ruakura is now home to the Superhub, an enormous inland port (logistics base). More residential developments are going in to the north, and the new State Highway 1 expressway offramp is right next door, so there’s also lots of through traffic. All of this means the shop has been busy from day one!

New shop trial partner Fiona Fu reflected positively on the opening, saying that

“I’m so happy to be the first Ruakura trial partner. I’ve been with St. Pierre’s for more than six years, working at the Ulster Street shop and also training to be a manager at Grafton in Auckland. It has been a great ride so far. The new shop has been so busy, the main challenges have been building a strong team while also keeping up with demand!

Customers have been really glad to see us open and our staff have worked hard to learn fast. We have a wide customer base already, from builders, office workers, uni students and in whole families coming in, so we sell a wide range of products.

I really appreciate the help we’ve had opening the shop. Several area managers and lots of experienced staff have come from other shops for the first couple of weeks before and after opening. They have really helped in training our new staff, who are fast learners, so as a team we’re improving every day. It has been hard work so far, but through a real team effort the shop has run smoothly and customers are happy, which is so important.”

Director Nick Katsoulis was very happy at the successful opening, commenting that

“The store has been so busy, the opening has exceeded even our high expectations. It was a wonderful customer response on opening day and in the weeks since, sales have stayed at a very strong level.

The Waikato has long been a great market for St. Pierre’s, and we really appreciate the support of the local community. We’ve been wanting to open more shops here, and Ruakura is the perfect location, right on the main road but handy for lots of local customers as well. We’re pleased to be offering quick, fresh, healthier choices to everyone in and passing through eastern Hamilton. A big congratulations to the grand opening team and all the best to the new members.”

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General Manager of Property Oliver Shaw spoke highly of the new shop, commenting that

“We’re thrilled with the new shop. It’s a modern, inviting space in a fantastic location. It has strong local traffic from the business park, university and new suburbs, plus a lot of through traffic, particularly on weekends and busy holiday times. Our Bombay shop has built a strong through-traffic customer base, and we expect that Ruakura will be the same, but even more so with a large local population as well. This shop will be busy all day, every day, I’m sure of it!”

We believe that the Ruakura shop is already a landmark in this growing area. The new shop is another big milestone for the company, so if you’re visiting eastern Hamilton or just passing through, do stop by and see Fiona and her team – see you there soon!