Foodstuffs chief executive Chris Quin talks inflation, competitiveness and cost of living crunch - Money Talks

Chris Quin, CEO Foodstuffs North Island. Photo / Michael Craig

Foodstuffs chief executive Chris Quin says he’s acutely aware of how much the weekly supermarket shop has been hitting people in the back pocket through the past two years of high inflation.

Speaking to Liam Dann on the Money Talks podcast, he says he thinks the worst is behind us.

“We get the scrutiny of the sector,” says Quin who, as head of the Foodstuffs co-operative, manages the Pak’nSave, New World and Four Square brands.

“There’s not many organisations that a New Zealand household deals with two and a half times a week. And we know in a cost of living time, where things are tough for a lot of households... we’re right amongst the top household bills.

“We understand, and we respect it, and we need to be accountable back to New Zealanders for what’s happening in terms of food prices.”

Quin tells Money Talks about his first memories of money and how losing both his parents at 21 affected his outlook on life.

He talks about his first job at a paint shop and his passion for classic cars.

He also explains why he thinks the current market is competitive and makes Foodstuffs’ case for the merger of North Island and South Island divisions - currently before the Commerce Commission.

We also had to ask: is he a big supermarket shopper himself?

“I‘m in stores very often,” he says. “But not doing a household shop.

“It’s very real to me what has happened with food price inflation, what’s happened with supplier costs to us, and what’s happened with our pricing. We’ve tried to be really transparent about that because we feel that accountability to New Zealand households.”

When high inflation hit in 2021 it was a shock for New Zealanders who hadn’t experienced those kinds of rapid price increases in decades.

Quin is optimistic we are through the worst.

The good news right now is we’re down well below 1% (price increases) for the last three months, he says.

“Our retail price increases are sitting at around 0.4, 0.5 [%]. Supplier cost increases to us are still sitting in the threes - 3% or so. And food price inflation is somewhere around the same as our retail prices. You go back, 13, 14 months, we were talking about 12s in terms of percentage increase.”

In a way the scrutiny on supermarkets predates the inflation surge, Quin says.

“When you look back at it, Covid threw us into the limelight. There were only two things on the news. There was Covid and supermarkets.

“Any small thing we did, good or bad, got coverage.

“You’ve just got to accept it in return for the privilege to operate in every community.”

Listen to the full episode to hear more from Chris Quin about his backstory, the cost of food, and the planned merger of Foodstuffs’ two divisions

Money Talks is a podcast run by the NZ Herald. It isn’t about personal finance and isn’t about economics - it’s just well-known New Zealanders talking about money and sharing some stories about the impact it’s had on their lives and how it has shaped them.

The series is hosted by Liam Dann, business editor-at-large for the Herald. He is a senior writer and columnist, and also presents and produces videos and podcasts. He joined the Herald in 2003.

Money Talks is available on iHeartRadio, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.