Our Brands

Our Foodstuffs South Island co-operative is made up of nearly 200 individually owned businesses, operating under our loved and trusted retail brands – PAK’nSAVE, New World, Four Square and On the Spot. The success of our co-op is built on the talents and hard work of our people, and the strong leadership of our owner operator members. Our owner operators work at the heart of local communities, providing grocery essentials, employment opportunities and community support throughout the South Island. The information on this page relates to the ownership pathway for our PAK’nSAVE, New World or Four Square brands.

For information about On the Spot or Liquorland ownership please click on the links at the bottom of the page.

Becoming an Owner

Our owner operators have the privilege to feed our South Island communities and positively impact the lives of our customers every day. It’s a responsibility we take seriously, which means we have high expectations and seek out the best of the best when identifying and selecting our future owner operators. Fortunately, no one in our co-op takes this on alone – when you become an owner operator member of our co-operative, you also gain access to a support network of experienced local grocers and passionate Foodstuffs employees, who all play a part in contributing to your success. If you are up for the challenge of owning a dynamic business, and you are excited about the opportunity to have a positive impact on our communities, then the ownership pathway at Foodstuffs South Island might be for you.

Paramount Principles

We are successful as a co-op because our owner operators work in the best interest of the co-op and the future generations of grocers to come. This is articulated in our ‘paramount principles’:

• The co-op is an organisation of independent Grocers owning and operating their own business and working together for their mutual benefit and the benefit of the co-op.
• The co-op is the guardian of the co-op Principles and has the responsibility to preserve, protect, perpetuate, and promote the co-op and its assets for the mutual benefit of the shareholders and future shareholders.
• Shareholders are caretakers of the co-op and its assets. They have a responsibility to hand them on, to enable future generations of independent Grocers to trade cooperatively, just as those that have gone before, have enabled them to trade.

Working in one of our stores is the first step on the pathway to ownership.

From there, you will build the experience, capability and leadership needed to one day run a successful local store that serves its customers, supports its community, and leads a high-performing team.

This is a genuinely achievable pathway for people who are prepared to grow their grocery retail career, take on leadership responsibility, and keep developing over time.

Along the way, development is supported through a combination of hands-on in-store experience, everyday leadership opportunities, and formal learning and development support provided by the Foodstuffs South Island Learning & Development team.

Together, these help people build the capability, confidence and readiness needed for ownership.

Typically, this means building a few years of grocery retail experience, including around 24 months in a senior store leadership role reporting directly your store owner.

Once you have built that foundation and shown you are ready, you will be able to register your interest in joining the formal Owner Operator Development Pipeline, where you will continue to be supported through more tailored development and guidance as you prepare for store ownership.

Explore Careers in Our Stores