A major New Zealand grocery retailer has shown its faith in the future of Te Puke by building a $12 million supermarket in the town's centre which opens for business today.
The new New World supermarket is almost three times as big as Te Puke's old New World supermarket and will employ an additional 20 to 25 staff.
Owner/operator Jon Morrison told the Bay of Plenty Times employee numbers had risen to more than 90 with the addition of a seven-person bakery team, more staff in the expanded seafood department and on the additional checkouts.
Mr Morrison said Foodstuffs (the co-operative that owns the New World brand) started planning the new store four or five years ago and had not been put off by the impact of the vine-killing disease Psa on the town dubbed the kiwifruit capital of the world.
"The overall cost of the project is more than $12 million, so it's a massive investment and shows a lot of faith in this town and the future of this town. Supermarkets had felt the flow-on effects of Psa, with less customers and smaller spends," Mr Morrison said.