Pak’nSave Whanganui manager wins big at annual excellence awards

Pak 'n Save worker Nicola Hallet won multiple awards at Foodstuffs North Island Annual Excellence Awards. Photo / Bevan Conley

The work of Pak’nSave Whanganui’s Nicola Hallett has been recognised with her picking up two awards at Foodstuffs’ North Island Annual Excellence Awards.

“This event is always a highlight for me as I get to see the skills and talent of our teams get recognised, as well as acknowledging the effort of our people,” Foodstuffs North Island CEO Chris Quin said.

Hallet won first place in the company’s “Women in Retail” and “Store Mastery” programmes.

She has worked in Pak’nSave Whanganui for the last 12 years in multiple managerial positions across the store and is currently the retail buying manager at the store.

“Basically all of the buying team report through to me in terms of supply and demand for the shelf,” she said.

She is also a part of the senior team who looks after the store’s strategic plan.

She said the women in retail award was about encouraging more women in Foodstuffs looking to take up senior positions within the co-operative.

“Women in retail allows our Foodstuffs women that wish to progress further within Foodstuffs to be able to be given the tools and a cohort basically and information around how they can succeed within their chosen roles.”

The store mastery programme was based on teaching managers every aspect of a store.

“That goes through anything from buying to financials to people to engagement to everything that you could potentially touch around a store,” she said.

She felt proud to have been able to represent Pak’nSave Whanganui at the awards and to stand alongside the people of her fellow programme cohorts.

“There was a winner on the day I suppose, but I see that we’re all winners, we all were able to get the information and grow and learn and develop in our own roles in our own ways.”

As part of winning this award, Hallet said she had been approved to enter the Trainee Operator Programme (TOP).

Pak’nSave Hāwera’s Wendy Self also won the baker of the year award, and New World Taihape owner/operator Davinder Sandhu was one of the newly approved operators who graduated from the TOP.