7 May 2024

Four Square Brightwater owner operators Nathan and Anna Hay

Four Square Brightwater at the top of the South is attracting the praise of local punters following renovations that have unveiled a fresh new look for the 99-year-old iconic kiwi brand.  

Owner operators Nathan and Anna Hay have been in post at the store, their very first Four Square, for just over two years and decided to give it a complete overhaul, updating it to Four Square’s latest ultra-modern specifications. The store is one of only four in the South Island renovated to the new standard, with the other stores located in Māpua, Queenstown, and Palmerston, north of Dunedin. 

Foodstuffs South Island, the co-operative of local grocers behind the South Island’s Four Square, New World and PAK’nSAVE stores has plans in place to ensure all new Four Square stores in the South Island are built to this new benchmark.

“We’ve made a commitment to investing in the store and the growing community of Brightwater by providing a modern store for locals and visitors, making it easier and more convenient for them to get all their everyday essentials and grocery items,” Nathan says. 

“We’ve timed our renovations well, ahead of Four Square’s 100^th anniversary on 4 July, bringing the store up to date and ready for the next 100 years of trading.”

Four Square Brightwater Interior

The store now features an improved layout and lighting, brightly coloured neon signs that identify each instore department, electronic shelf labels, and a contemporary colour scheme. There’s also new energy-efficient refrigeration, extra space for customers to move around instore, and over 4,000 products. The store has increased its chilled foods section, which features its top-selling items, added hot cooked chickens to their deli offering, and recruited four more team members, bringing the total count to 10.

“It’s been a real game changer and it’s generated a lot of positive interest and feedback from our local customers,” Nathan says.

“We are really pleased with the way the store is looking and the improvements we’ve made to our customers’ instore experience.”

“We’ve had increased foot traffic following the renovation and we’ve been getting great feedback about the store from our customers and community. People are coming in and saying everything looks new again, and that it’s great to have a modern store in town.”

Four Square Brightwater Storefront

Foodstuffs South Island has over 200 stores in communities across Te Waipounamu including Four Square, New World and PAK’nSAVE. The co-op has helped a number of first-time owner operators like Nathan on their journey to store ownership. 

At Foodies, part of their purpose is to help create successful communities and positively impact their customers’ lives every day – something that Nathan and Anna hope locals see when they shop instore and through the community groups they support locally, such as The Wanderers Community Sports Club. Nathan has come a long way from his corporate background as a chartered accountant, and various roles in finance and management in the UK, and at Foodstuffs South Island and Kathmandu. Nathan was a commercial manager and then PAK’nSAVE group manager at the Foodstuffs South Island Support Centre. Anna started her supermarket journey as a checkout operator at the age of 15, before going into recruitment in the UK, and then joined the compliance and food safety team at New World St Martins in Christchurch for one year, prior to becoming an owner operator. Nathan and Anna have always dreamed of owning their own business, and the co-op has set them up for success, providing the support, training and guidance required to own and operate their own store. When the opportunity to take the reins of Four Square Brightwater came up, they leapt at the chance, making the move from Christchurch with their two kids, Millie, aged 13, and Bode, 9.

“We love being here and serving our local community, it’s rewarding and it’s varied, and we also really enjoy being in a small town where we all look out for each other,” Nathan says. 

“For us, it’s all about people, and doing our best each day for our local community.”