Cheree Kinnear on the widespread chaos across Auckland this morning and frustrated travellers at Auckland Airport. Video / Jed Bradley
New Zealand’s biggest supermarket chain has urged restraint from Auckland shoppers, its chief saying “only buy what you need”.
In an echo of pandemic lockdowns and grocery shortages, Foodstuffs North Island chief executive Chris Quin sent out a clear message today to Aucklanders hit by flooding.
“We encourage customers to only buy what they need, so everyone gets their fair share when they shop. If you’re driving to store today, please go carefully, and let’s give each other respect as people deal with what’s a very stressful event,” Quin said.
Supermarkets hit by flooding include Wairau Park’s Pak’nSave, Mt Albert’s New World and Newmarket’s newly-opened New World on Nuffield St.
The heavy rain across the Auckland region had impacted a number of stores including Four Squares, Quin said.
“While we’re currently assessing the impact, which ranges from small roof leaks to complete flooding, our immediate priority has been ensuring the safety of our teams and our stores. Fortunately, we’re not aware of any harm to people in our network, but our thoughts are with all the Aucklanders who have damaged homes, and we hope everyone remains as safe as possible. Our team is engaging with our foodbank partners to assess their needs so that we can provide support,” he said.
“As this is fast-evolving and conditions can change quickly, we recommend customers check their local store’s Facebook page, or store website, before they leave home to shop, as some stores may temporarily change their opening hours,” he said.
Aucklanders should show restraint, Foodstuffs North Island CEO Chris Quin says. Photo / Supplied
Foodstuffs was talking to Countdown “to ensure between us we can cover the key suburbs affected”, he said.
Pak’nSave Wairau has apologised to customers it’s not open: “We’re really sorry, we’ve had to temporarily close due to flooding. All the team are okay, and we’re busy cleaning up. Check back soon for an update on when we’ll be opening again. Thanks for your support.”
People are offering to help with the cleanup at that big store, which had many Auckland Anniversary Day specials including on rice and blueberries.
Footage on TikTok showed people in the flooded store.
A Foodstuffs spokesperson said today: “The video looks to be team members and customers evacuating the store in an orderly fashion.”
It was most likely taken at the Pak’nSave store at Wairau, she said.
Countdown said at this stage our only store that had been majorly impacted was Countdown Mairangi Bay, closed due to flood damage.
“It’s likely to stay that way for a few days as we clean up and make sure the store is safe for customers and our team. We appreciate our customers’ understanding while we work through this,” a spokesperson said.
The rest of our Auckland stores will be open today but there may be some disruption on shelves and with online orders as our team gets things back to normal.
