Many deliveries for freshest produce

Press, 28 November 1989, Page 22

Many deliveries for freshest produce

The first truck load of fresh vegetables and fruit starts rolling into Countdown Northlands about 7.30 a.m. each day. This will be followed by another four to five others during the day to ensure the customers receive the best and freshest produce. Presenting the best and the freshest produce for its customers is nothing new to Countdown, nor is it daunted by the scale of operation.

The produce supervisor for Canterbury, Les Kidd, says that in some exceptional weeks he has seen the Countdown shops in Christchurch supplied with up to 3000 cases of lettuces (36,000 units), on another occasion nine tonnes of asparagus, another 9700 10kg bags of potatoes and one time

204,000 buttercup pumpkins.

“We have our own special growers supplying us with items such as potatoes, cabbage and lettuce. Everything, however, must come through the market system.”

Countdown sources its produce from Dunedin and Central Otago in the south and as far north as Auckland which supplies such things as ' strawberries, watermelon and pineapples.

The major innovation at Countdown Northlands is the thermocurtain display unit which maintains temperature and humidity and also the Countdown reputation for freshness, quality and price.

One of the highlights of the produce section is the massive display areas and

the changed layout which makes it easier for customers to find items they are looking for. “The layout is called a finger display and it means that at every turn there is a fresh display from which to choose,” says Mr Kidd. Also incorporated in this area is a bulk bin section where fruit such as oranges and apples can be found at prices which will be less than the prepacked items. Not only are the display areas enormous, but they will continually be restocked by the 14 staff who will be in this department. “New technology means that, all the produce will now be weighed

at the check-out rather than at the produce department. This means

there will be no queues while customers have their produce weighed and it also frees up two staff who will ensure that the display and packaged areas are fully stocked,” Mr Kidd says. Clock-face scales will still be in place in this section so customers can get an idea of the weight of a certain item they have purchased, thereby calculating the approximate cost. Videos of recipes will play continuously in this area. Another innovation will be the introduction of a pot plant and cut flower section. While Countdown has small display areas for such items in other outlets, the space pro-

vided in the Northlands branch is more substantial.