Foodtown started ball rolling in Otahuhu

Progressive Enterprises is a slice of New Zealand retailing history - and it's certainly been around, in terms of owners.

The company's milestones include the opening of the first Foodtown supermarket in Otahuhu, Auckland, in 1958 by then owners Tom Ah Chee and Norm Kent.

The company listed on the stock exchange in 1971 and was one of the best performing stocks in the late 70s and early 80s under managing director Ah Chee and chairman Brian Picot.

At the end of 1984, it was the 12th largest listed company in New Zealand.

Companies to later hold controlling stakes in Progressive included Craig Heatley's Rainbow Corp, Brierley Investments, Magnum and Australia's Coles Myer.

It was delisted, then relisted in 1992 when Coles Myer sold down a 60 per cent stake in a float that was followed by management problems and a soggy share price.

West Australian company Foodland bought Coles Myer's 38.6 per cent stake in July 1993. In 1999, Foodland paid a premium to buy out the rest of the shareholders, removing the now healthier company from the stock exchange once more.

In 2002, Foodland bought Woolworths (NZ) from Hong Kong owners Dairy Farm Group, adding the Woolworths, Big Fresh and Price Chopper supermarket brands to Progressive's Foodtown, Countdown, SuperValue and FreshChoice.

Progressive said it also took the expanded group to a 45 per cent share of the New Zealand grocery market.

The company's share remains about there. Major rival Foodstuffs has the rest, mainly through New World and Pak 'N Save.