Auckland floods: $7.5m New World reopens after becoming ‘giant swimming pool’

Watching a new $7.5 million supermarket become a “giant swimming pool” in Auckland’s floods was “demoralising” for first time store owner-operator Matt Hayward.

Hayward was saving his wife’s car from being submerged in floodwaters in Mt Roskill on Friday evening when he got a call from his duty manager saying water was seeping in the supermarket’s front entrance.

When he got to the store, he had to wade through metre-high water to get to the back entrance.

“The whole property was a giant swimming pool. It was all a bit demoralising.”

Newmarket New World became a "giant swimming pool" during the Auckland floods.

He thought it could be the end of its presence on Newmarket’s Nuffield St, just four months after opening in October last year.

“It was pretty horrific, we thought it was the end for a minimum of weeks.”

Most of the water was drained by 9pm on Friday and the store was completely dry by 10am on Sunday, but the damage left behind was extensive.

Buses and cars driving past caused waves of water to hit the front entrance, smashing its glass door.

Water had ripped through its six offices, leaving them “buggered”, with destroyed computers, fridges, emergency power systems, printers, photocopiers and staff uniforms.

“Water’s a hell of a thing,” Hayward said.

Newmarket New World following the Auckland floods.

Foodstuffs replaced all of the damaged office supplies, before being reimbursed by insurance.

The amount of contaminated and discarded food filled an 18-metre skip bin.

One-hundred-and-sixty one-litre crates of wet, sealed food, such as canned goods, were donated to the Kids Breakfast Club food bank.

“At least something good’s come of this big flood.”

Hayward expected the damage and lost goods would cost “in the hundreds of thousands”. An insurance loss adjuster visited the store on Sunday and his claim approval process was “looking good”, he said.

The supermarket reopened at 7am on Monday, with the help of staff and friends doing “a lot of cleaning”.

One customer arrived on Sunday morning to water blast the property, owned by Australia’s Scentre Group.

“It’s amazing to think the long way we have come in just a few days.

“Big thank you to everyone that pulled finger - friends, family, Foodstuffs and my crew.”

New World Newmarket, part of the Foodstuffs North Island co-operative, employed 40 full-time staff and had 70 car parks on its premises.

Matt and Amy Hayward opened their first New World Newmarket store on October 4 last year. Photo / Supplied

Matt had worked at Foodstuffs for 14 years with the aim of owning his own supermarket. The Newmarket store was his first.

“My ambition was to own a store since the day I entered one. It’s not easy.”

Two other Auckland Foodstuffs supermarkets remain closed, New World Fresh Collective in Mt Albert and its largest store, Pak’nSave Wairau Rd.

“The flood damage was extensive and the sheer size of this store means getting it ready for re-opening is a huge exercise,” a Foodstuffs North Island spokeswoman said in a statement.

“Led by owner operator Quintin Proctor, his incredible store team, Foodstuffs Support Centre, contractors and supplier partners are working around the clock to re-open for the local community. We can’t yet provide a re-open date, but our goal is days, not weeks.”

Flooding through Pak'nSave on Wairau Rd, North Shore. Photo / Facebook