James Backhouse, New World Northside owner says they've recently
doubled their range of speciality cheeses in a new three-tier
delicatessen chiller, to satisfy customer's changing tastes.
"With all the cooking shows on TV, Oamaru locals are really keen
to try new types of cheeses and olives and that's led to an
increasing demand for deli foods," explains Backhouse.
In what might be viewed by some as a worrying trend, there are
warning signs that Southerners are becoming similar to Aucklanders
- a survey of New World Northside shoppers showed that customers
were especially keen to buy a takeaway espresso coffee from their
store. Three employees have undergone barista training to run the
store's new coffee bar.
Backhouse says, "We're pretty close to all the sports grounds in
town so during the winter it'll be a good draw card to warm up if
you're standing on the sidelines, plus we're the last stop heading
north out of town so it's a good driver reviver if you need
it."
There's also been a revamp in store which has seen the widening
of the aisle between the produce and bulk foods departments, an
area previously known for trolley bottle-neck.
"It was a really tight squeeze coming out of the produce
department but we've opened it up and I've had loads of customers
telling me how much easier it is to get around," says
Backhouse.
The construction work in store was done after the supermarket
closed each evening so not to impact on the customers;
"The store's 12 years old now so it really needed an
upgrade and we wanted to make it a bit more modern"
Nearly every section of the store has been given a makeover,
including a new ice-bed in the seafood department, an expanded
bakery range and the addition of nine gourmet cuts of meat in the
butchery for customers needing a bit of inspiration.
But Backhouse says it hasn't all been a case out of 'out with
the old, in with the new';
"We had a really clunky old chiller from the late 80s, it was a
hand-me down from City Centre in Dunedin, we've replaced it with a
flash new stand-up chiller and some of the butchery staff have
taken the old one home with plans to make it into a barbecue, so it
hasn't gone out to pasture just yet!"