The woman behind NZ's first PAK'nSAVE
When Gaylene Voss opened New Zealand's first PAK'nSAVE in Kaitāia in 1985, the walls were exposed and the most popular products were candles, mutton and beef dripping. Although it was a success from the outset, Voss says she never thought the 'barn store' – as the retail model was referred to at the time – would develop into what is one of the most popular nationwide supermarket chains 40 years later.
'Never ever!' says Voss, who owned and ran the Far North store with her late husband Barrie. 'We thought it would do well in Kaitāia in particular, [but] we never thought it would be like it is now.'
As PAK'nSAVE celebrates its 40th birthday on June 12, there are 59 stores across the country. Voss, now in her 80s and living in Havelock North, can't quite believe how far PAK'nSAVE has come.
'I'm actually amazed that from our little humble store, you can now walk into these big, bright stores with lots and lots of items to sell, and with all the specialty departments like the deli and butchery. Because our store certainly wasn't like that.'
Gaylene and Barrie, with the help of their daughter Cynthia, had been running a Four Square in Whangārei for seven years when they learned Foodstuffs, the co-op of PAK'nSAVE, New World and Four Square, was looking for someone to operate a new kind of store selling groceries in bulk in Kaitāia. 'We applied, and were lucky enough to be accepted,' she says. They went on to own and operate PAK'nSAVE Kaitāia for 11 years, helping to establish a new way of shopping for New Zealanders.
Voss looks back on her time running the first PAK'nSAVE with immense satisfaction and is proud that many of the innovations the store helped popularise – like customers packing their own groceries – are now the standard. She says that shoppers cottoned on to the then-new practice of self-packing extremely quickly. 'Everybody just took that on board. There was a packing bench, and we supplied newspaper to wrap your goods in.'
But being popular from the get-go came with its own issues. 'Our biggest problem was the store got too small very quickly,' Voss explains. They undertook three expansions which Gaylene describes as being so vast they took her beyond the realm of her financial comprehension. 'I remember Foodstuffs phoning me because for one of those extensions we had to borrow $3 million. To me, $3 million was like talking about outer space. I only thought in thousands. All I could write down was '3m'.'
'Over time, we added a serve-over deli, nice produce displays, a bakery, a fish bar, alcohol section and bigger checkouts which had the rolling conveyor belts and scanning. To start with, we had checkouts with no conveyor belts, so you had to push your goods along. Things have really changed.'
Something that hasn't changed, however, is the central driving ethos.
'The intentions were the same as now: New Zealand's lowest food prices. That has always been the aim. It's not supposed to be flash. It's just supposed to be the lowest prices.'
Specials at the time the store opened included 1kg of kūmara for 69c and 20kg of potatoes for $4.99.
'When we put in the deli, the popular item there was the one kilo of sliced luncheon. And of course, customers paid for their goods in cash. I can remember we counted the cash, and two of us took it across the road to the bank in a green Milo sports bag.'
Voss' fondest memories come from her relationships and interactions with customers and staff. 'We started with 17 staff in 1985. When we decided it was time to move on in 1996, we had about 120 staff, including part-timers.' She says she enjoyed charting the careers of the schoolchildren who worked part-time in her store. 'Because the people that worked after school were go-getters and made great successes of their lives, which I thought was great for Kaitāia.'
Gaylene and Barrie were also heavily involved in local community causes. 'We supported every charity, every fundraising event that was going. It was because our customers supported us. We were supported well [and wanted to give back]. It was a nice area to work in and a wonderful community.'
Voss says she's excited to be participating in PAK'nSAVE's 40th birthday celebrations at the Kaitāia store with current owner-operator Doug Cochrane, the store's longest-serving employee, David Palmer, and the community. The store, and the chain, are testament to her and Barrie's hard work.
'I find it very complimentary that this concept grew from what we started 40 years ago.'
The milestone will be marked on June 12 with cake and a sausage sizzle for the local community and local groups the store continues to serve and support.
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