The other day, a customer strolled into Gate Pa New World supermarket and asked for sumac, a distinctive spice used like salt that produces a lemony taste in Middle Eastern cooking.
The supermarket didn't stock the spice at the time but its new owner-operator, Catherine Versalko-West, quickly reassured the customer that she would get it in straightaway.
Her grocery buyer tracked down a supplier and ordered the spicy product for the store. The customer was told the product is now available at the Cameron Rd supermarket.
Seven weeks after taking over Gate Pa New World, Catherine has one simple philosophy about her job: keeping the consumers and staff happy.
"I had read about sumac and seen it in recipes," she said. "That's what makes the job so exciting. I enjoy getting on the shop floor, seeing what customers want and trying to accommodate them.
"If we don't have the product, then we will source it. You have to keep up with the trends because Kiwis are travelling more and customers want more and more different products.
"If you think back 10 years, who would have thought about hummus dips and pesto sauce? Now, big growth areas are sauvignon sparkling and pinot gris wines. You have to keep up with the trends."
She and her husband, David West - a co-owner - moved to Tauranga at the end of September after running Takapuna New World for 6 years.
They jumped at the chance to buy the Gate Pa New World, which had been operating for four years and employed 125 people, including 56 full-timers.
"It was a good move for me," said Catherine. "It was part of the progression with the Foodstuffs group. Gate Pa is a bigger store - the whole of Takapuna would fit into the storeroom - and Tauranga is a beautiful area to live in. It's got everything we want."
At 3200sq m in size, Gate Pa is twice the size of Takapuna, and Catherine is in her element.
"The store is new, it has good lighting, it has been well looked after and it has a good flow - the aisles are not cluttered."
She's "over the moon" about the delivery area at the back of the supermarket. The trucks simply drive in one end, unload the deliveries and drive out the other side.
"The drivers and the storemen are happy, and it makes a big difference to the running of the shop."
Her day starts at 7am, often after a 45-minute workout in the gym. First, she will check the turnover from the previous day and then touch base with her department managers.
Then she will walk around the shop floor to greet every staff member on duty. Catherine repeats this in the afternoon when the second shift begins between noon and 2pm.
She will pop into work a couple of times during the weekend to support staff. "The morale is getting better," said Catherine.
"I have a lot of energy and I'm trying to work in with staff and communicate with them at all levels. I want to give them the best I can.
"We've had some fun things happen, like Melbourne Cup Hat Day and 30 of the staff participated. We've had two staff come forward asking to do a three-year management development course, so that's great."
One of them, grocery manager Wynand Kruger, moved from Takapuna with Catherine.
Born in Napier, Catherine trained as a primary school teacher at North Shore Teachers College and then travelled overseas. She decided she wanted to get into the food industry rather than teaching.
She started a London City and Guilds professional chef course in Auckland but left to become a Foodstuffs deli specialist in 1990.
She travelled from the North Shore to Kaitaia, monitoring the delicatessen standards in the Foodstuffs stores.
Catherine was then appointed bakery merchandise manager for Foodstuffs Auckland, and her patch included Bay of Plenty. She travelled to Tauranga once a month and visited the Brookfield and Mount Maunganui New Worlds and Pak'n'Save in Cameron Rd. She became an approved Foodstuffs operator after completing the group's training course and she ran the Bay Four Square store in Russell for four years, before moving to Takapuna.
"The New Worlds are pretty big machines and you have to ensure that people are trained to run them," said Catherine.
She and her husband have worked together for more than 10 years. "We have some interesting director meetings at home but it's good to have another set of eyes on the business."
Gate Pa New World stocks 20,000 items at any one time and Catherine knows she has to keep up with the latest food fashion - including sumac.
Her supermarket provides gourmet deli, gluten free and English/South African and Asian products. Healthy nutritional fruit bars and sports drinks are popular, she says.
Her team of bakers make the dough themselves, instead of using frozen dough. The seafood department receives daily deliveries and her butchers break down their own meat.
Catherine has just bought a vacuum packer for the busy holiday period. Customers going away camping or boating can have their meat vacuum-packed, which makes it last about 12 days instead of the normal shelf life of two to three days.
On the sensitive question of turnover, Catherine said Gate Pa New World had plenty of potential to grow.
"I can do this by getting out on the shop floor meeting customers and working with staff. We have to listen to people and get the quality product in at the right time.
"My job is not about sitting in the office and crunching numbers. I want to get out among the community and get the business involved with different projects."
But what about the competition? There are four other supermarkets along Cameron Rd and another one just behind Gate Pa New World in Fraser Cove Shopping Centre.
"I've never been frightened by competition; it's good and people need choices. I knew the other supermarkets were there when I bought this business. We have a beautiful store and we just need to get the people in here.
"I'm very excited about Spotlight coming into the [Gate Pa] shopping centre. That's going to bring even more people into the centre."
Catering to local taste trends
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