The community that got its supermarket back
Monday, 2 October 2023
A supermarket site that closed due to persistent crime and an ending lease is set to get a new tenant, with the grocer saying his expectation of a change in government and resulting crackdown on retail crime played a part in his decision.
The former branch of Australian owned Countdown Nawton shut its doors in July, leaving the community without a supermarket.
However, a concerted initiative between the building’s owner John Sinclair, grocer Manish Thakkar and the wider community will give Nawton back a place to shop.
Sinclair said that providing the Nawton community with an accessible and affordable grocer was essential to the prosperity of the area.
“It is the Hamilton community that are responding to what I call the weetbix moment.”
Down-home in style, Sinclair said it would be the case that the shop’s daily specials would be written on a chalkboard, not displayed electronically.
Sinclair explained he saw the December opening - the weetbix moment - as an opportunity to prove a community supermarket is a possibility.
“At this stage we don’t know if we’re going to go in as a franchisee or not. Then it would be a FreshChoice, a Supervlaue or a Four Square,” Thakkar said.
Regardless of the franchise, the supermarket will take the name Fifo - first in, first out.
The impetus for the idea came via a knock at the door, says Rupali, Thakkar’s wife.
“The idea came to Manish’s mind, when Tama (Potaka, Hamilton West MP) visited my home, that was when the idea became concrete, I have to do it because I have the support of the local MP and all.”
Primed to invest about $2.5 million into the fit out of the shop, Thakkar said that the investments in the community represented his wanting to give back.
“This town has given me everything. When I came from India I had only $2000 in my pocket. It was time for me to give back to the community.”
Hamilton West MP Tama Potaka was instrumental in getting Sinclair and Thakkar talking, both agreed.
“We can’t go to the mayor or the local MP and say can you do this or do that, but boy their support and their contacts have just been invaluable.”
With the expedited installation of surveillance cameras by the city council, Sinclair said once new lights and cameras had been installed inside the shop it would make the premises safer.
Potaka agreed that ensuring the safety concerns that closed countdown were removed for the new supermarket was important.
“Security and Manaakitanga are key to ensuring Manish can operate with free and entrepreneurial spirit.”
Given Thakkar has been the victim of robberies, including being held at gunpoint at his Supervalue Parkwood store, he was asked why he felt it appropriate to open a new shop.
“We live in hope. We know that changes are coming on October 14 onwards. We are positive the government will take immediate action to change laws and protect retailers.”
Sinclair said council initiatives to reduce crime through street scape design will also aid in operating without fearing crime.
“It’s really exciting. We’re upgrading all this, the façade and the lighting, but the ability to upgrade this area [the square outside] is really exciting.”
When it was announced in April that it would close, Countdown’s director of property Matt Grainger said that Countdown Nawton was one of its smaller stores and had been part of its network for over 35 years.
“This is not a decision we take lightly,” he said at the time.
“We’ve looked at how we could keep the store open but unfortunately there are a number of issues that mean it’s unable to meet the requirements of a modern retail supermarket,” Grainger said.