A supermarket with no craft beer?
BY CHERIE HOWIE
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Craft beer fans fear the arrival of a Countdown supermarket in Springlands could cut off supplies of their favourite brew.
Marlborough Express beer writer Geoff Griggs said FreshChoice Springlands supermarket was considered by craft beer devotees to be one of the best in the country for its range of non-mainstream beers.
It also offers craft beer on tap, which he believed was unique in New Zealand.
However, the supermarket was sold this week to Progressive Enterprises supermarket chain Countdown. The new supermarket will open next month.
Mr Griggs expressed his disappointment in the new Redwoodtown Countdown's craft beer range in his weekly Express column yesterday.
Redwoodtown Supervalue was converted to Countdown this month and Mr Griggs said craft beers, including Marlborough's Renaissance, Moa and 8 Wired, as well as those from national brewers Harrington's, Emerson's, Epic and Wigram, had been dropped.
He feared an even bigger "tragedy" when Springlands Countdown opened.
Discussion about the arrival of Countdown was raging on beer forums, he said.
"There's a lot of people in the beer world very upset about this."
A response by Countdown's parent company, Progressive Enterprises, that it was in talks with Tuatara Brewing was pleasing, but he still wanted to see other craft beers return.
Marlborough wines could also be affected, he said.
"I'd like to see them give some autonomy to their branches, so Countdown customers in provincial New Zealand can go to their local Countdown and buy local beer."
Progressive Enterprises managing director Peter Smith said the company had reviewed the total beer range.
"We have selected the best-selling beers in this region and ranged as many into Redwoodtown as currently possible."
However, the supermarket's category manager was talking with Matson's Beer and Tuatara to bring in some of their craft beer lines as part of the bi-annual range review, Mr Smith said.
Other craft beer opportunities were being worked on, he said.
Progressive had contacted suppliers whose slow-selling products were dropped when the supermarket was converted to Countdown.
It wrote letters to not only Redwoodtown, but the 153 other Countdown supermarkets around the country, inviting them to make new offers, Mr Smith said.
The company had a national ranging policy to ensure consistency and good economy of scale.
However, some high-selling products outside the policy had been retained in Redwoodtown, such as Daisy Hill Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc.
A Progressive spokeswoman said the product review also included customer feedback.
The same review would take place before Springlands Countdown opened, she said. It was too early to say whether beer on tap would be retained.
- The Marlborough Express
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Totally agree with the concerns raised in the article. When we first read about this that was our main concern. No more beer and wine choice anymore. Also what about the great produce they would have on great specials that were better that Countdown and they were local. Then you have the great meat specials. Really sad to see Fresh Choice go. If Countdown does not want to lose business to NW they better make sure they keep the choice Fresh Choice offered.
Redwoodtown countdown is a laugh....no delicatessen at all, just cheese and no hot snacks or filled rolls ...acres of booze that just gathers dust abound and they have never heard of dogs only cats. Where is the single serve meals for the single and elderly people...this area is very heavily populated with pensioners not just dopers and boozers !....."Get your act together REDWOODTOWN COUNTDOWN, your a poor replacement for SUPERVALUE". heaven help Springland people when you plague THEIR doorstep...THANKS NEW WORLD !
It's not only the beer I expect to go, but other local products too, like the My Pie range and Pic's Peanut Butter, both from Nelson, and local fruit and vegetables. Fresh Choice is handy for me to use, but I expect I'll be going to New World more often in future :-(
We don't need all of these Countdowns here. Totally ridiculous. The shelves in the original one were never stocked. Oh well, there's still New World.
this is really sad for marlborough went to the redwoodtown countdown last sunday was really dissapointed in the crappy range. Now springlands these were the only 2 that had a decent craft beer range.
Watch out Marlborough. Countdowns are: always out of stock of their better specials, have a very limited range and do not stock "many" local products, tried once a week shopping in Stoke Nelson and they are always short of product, so back to Richmond & Fresh Choice it was (friendlier as well)also consistently a dollar or so above others in my opinion even Fresh Choice can beat them here. So we shop between Pack & Save and Fresh Choice. Fresh Choice hold a lot more local products.
Absolutely shocking. I haven't been so dismayed for a very long time. We have used Fresh Choice for years because of its splendid butchery section. Visitors from overseas and from other parts of New Zealand were green with envy about the quality of meat they have enjoyed in our home. They found it hard to believe such quality ever came out of a supermarket. And it was great to have that marvellous that "outside the box" thinking that gave us a section on craft beer. This is the kind of thing that made Blenheim a more interesting place than it might otherwise have been. Now we are heading for wall to wall mediocrity. I can see that New World is going to have to find more parking somehow! I find it hard to believe we are to have only one attractive supermarket where with a reasonable choice and a real live butcher.