Latest news with #PaknSave
RNZ News
4 days ago
- General
- RNZ News
Pak'n Save customer stunned by 1.1kg rock in bag of potatoes
The customer found a 1.1kg rock in a Pam's bag of potatoes. Photo: TikTok/@memoriesmind93 Foodstuffs says a customer who found a stone in her bag of potatoes can have a fresh bag - and she doesn't even have to give back the rock. The woman posted on TikTok that she had just finished peeling potatoes from a Pam's bag bought from Pak'n Save. Among the potatoes was a large rock. When she put it on her kitchen scales, it weighed more than 1.1 kilograms. "You cannot tell me this is a potato because it weighs a kilo and then some," she said. Other people had commented on the video that it had happened to them, too. A Foodstuffs spokesperson said it seemed the potato-shaped, dirt-covered rock managed to sneak through the potato processing gate. "We appreciate the customer's surprise - it would have been problematic to peel and there's obviously not much nutritional value in boiled or roast rocks, so they've got every reason to call it out," they said. "The store is aware of the situation and will happily give the customer a replacement bag of potatoes, without having to return the original bag, or the rock." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
01-08-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Pushing our buttons to loosen our wallets
There's a suggestion that the cost-of-living crisis has taken the excitement out of supermarket campaigns. Photo: Supplied It's child pester-power versus high-end kitchenware versus 'just lower prices' at New Zealand supermarkets right now. The offerings couldn't be more different. New World shoppers collecting stickers to grab cast iron cookware , Woolworths giving out tin Disney Discs for kids to ... well, it's not really clear what kids do with them once they have them. At Pak'nSave, it's just business as usual - it doesn't do giveaways. In the past, these campaigns have created social media frenzies, with New World's knife promotion, miniature shops, and little gardens being big hits. During the so-called 'Summer of Smeg', shoppers took to Trade Me to complete their full set of knives. There were 39,000 searches for them on the site in the seven days after the promotion's launch. But there's a suggestion that the cost-of-living crisis has taken the excitement out of the offerings. Reddit users are divided between wanting New World's knife promotion back and just wanting lower grocery prices instead. "It feels to me like these promos ... people are getting less excited about them as they go along," says RNZ's money correspondent Susan Edmunds. "When we started off with the Smeg knives and the little gardens and stuff, it seemed like everyone was talking about it and swapping things, and there was lots of chatter about it online, and I'm not seeing that as much now. " Is the thought of some flash cookware enough to change a shopper's behaviour, or get them in the door of a different supermarket? Probably not, says Edmunds. "We're such creatures of habit when it comes to supermarket shopping that this is more likely to be rewarding loyalty with people who are already shopping there. "There wouldn't be that many people who are going 'oooh, Woolworths or New World'? and I'll be swayed to New World by the Smeg giveaway. But I suppose that would happen if you had one on one side of the road and one on the other." Kids' pester-power is probably worth a lot. "As more of us shop online, that's less of a factor, because kids don't get any say on where you're online shopping. But I suppose if you've got your kids nagging you to go to a particular shop, then that probably would sway you .... but people are so committed usually to 'their' supermarket that they're comfortable with and know where everything is." Having said that, her kids are collecting the Disney Discs and she's "finding them all over the house - probably Smeg dishes would be more useful". She says the New World tie-up with Smeg is helping the higher-end brand to get established. "This will help their brand recognition. People will start to get more familiar with it and maybe feel more comfortable if they're shopping, and they maybe want a fridge, and they see a Smeg fridge. This all helps with that." The cookware being offered at New World doesn't seem to feature in retail stores, although there's plenty of similar, and expensive, equipment. "But not that stuff, so I feel like this is probably a promotional play for Smeg to try and broaden its ... potential market, and build up its brand name, and it's got the power of New World behind it. Everyone loves these New World promotions, so it's a win for them [Smeg] from a marketing perspective, and it's a win for New World because you get these quite high-end products at a relatively cheap price ... and then I guess it's a win for consumers who get to stock up on - what is it - utensil holders and baking dishes and all sorts." Dr Saira Raza Khan (left) and Dr Pragea Putra (right) Photo: Alexia Russell Dr Pragea Putra is a lecturer in marketing at the University of Auckland Business School. His shopping behaviour is currently being dictated by the demands of his seven-year-old son, who is collecting the Disney Discs from Woolworths. He tells The Detail , while New World tends to attract shoppers who are a bit more established and value quality, and want nice things in their kitchen, Woolworths is tapping into the family market - parents with kids in tow. But he thinks Woolworths has missed a marketing trick with its failure to emphasise that the discs it's giving away aren't plastic - they're recyclable aluminium - and that there are games you can play with them instead of just collecting them to look at. Dr Putra's colleague, Dr Saira Raza Khan, looks at a different form of button-pushing - she's an expert in consumer behaviour. Her research has looked at the best way to get public health messages through, and it suggests that consumers are sick of having the fear factor used against them to get them to change their behaviour. Dr Khan says gratitude is an underused, but powerful, motivator and health practitioners should be looking at it more often. Check out how to listen to and fol low The Detail here . You can also stay up-to-date by liking us on Facebook or following us on Twitter .
RNZ News
15-07-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Midday Report Essentials for Tuesday 15th July 2025
business food 26 minutes ago In today's episode, a man in his 80s has been taken to hospital after being trapped in his campervan when it was blown over in a reported tornado in Northland; The owner of New World and Pak'nSave supermarkets in the North Island is facing legal action over alleged cartel conduct regarding the supply of products to a hospitality customer; New research shows Kiwis are covered when it comes to cars, boats and gadgets but don't make the same effort for themselves; Conservation land did not escape a beating after last week's intense weather in the Nelson-Tasman region.
RNZ News
15-07-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Supermarket owner faces legal action over alleged cartel conduct
business crime 21 minutes ago The owner of New World and Pak'nSave supermarkets in the North Island is facing legal action over alleged cartel conduct regarding the supply of products to a hospitality customer. Consumer New Zealand chief executive Jon Duffy spoke to Charlotte Cook.
RNZ News
01-07-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Foodstuffs North Island warned over likely breach of grocery competition law
Foodstuffs owns Pak'n Save and New World. Photo: RNZ The Commerce Commission has given Foodstuffs North Island a warning over a likely breach of grocery competition law and asking suppliers to bring forward any complaints about unfair treatment. The Grocery Commissioner Pierre van Heerden said the Grocery Industry Competition Act required retailers to deal with suppliers in good faith at all times. "I'm concerned that this follows a pattern of behaviour that has been present in the industry for decades," he said. "This behaviour has been enabled for so long due to the significant power imbalance between the major supermarkets, who hold the vast majority of the market, and suppliers, who have limited bargaining power in comparison." While the Commerce Commission issued only a warning, van Heerden said further action would be taken if more examples came to light. "Foodstuffs North Island appears to have obstructed and delayed a supplier request by acting in ways that we believe were uncooperative and unreasonable," van Heerden said. "In this instance, based on the evidence we have, we decided a warning was the right response." He said Foodstuffs North Island category manager that acted as the main point of contact for the supplier, was also investigated regarding their role in the matter and given a warning. "Suppliers are reliant on their relationships with the retailers' commercial teams, so the staff in these roles within the supermarkets hold a lot of power. Any behaviour that weaponises this power imbalance is unacceptable," he said. "The major supermarkets have a responsibility to make sure their staff are properly trained. They need to make sure their staff follow the rules and deal with suppliers in good faith." He said further changes were proposed to the Supply Code which would provide more scrutiny and clarity about what was acceptable behaviour. "Our supplier survey showed that 37 percent of suppliers reported their interactions with Foodstuffs North Island as negative or very negative. "This is significantly higher than suppliers' ratings for Woolworths and Foodstuffs South Island, at approximately 20 percent." Van Heerden said the supply code was designed to protect small and medium sized suppliers. "We really appreciate where suppliers have come forward to tell us about issues so we can take action - like in this case where we heard directly from the supplier involved," he said. The warning letter can be found on the Commission's website.
