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HAPPY BIRTHDAYPak’n Save 25 Years!It’s been 25 years since Pak’n Save first opened in New Plymouth,but the Melody brothers who own the New Plymouth store, have139 years of grocery heritage behind them. Words Irena Brooks Photo Roger RichardsonTheir great great grandfather,Berkeley Bunbury, first startedtrading in 1874 as one half of Clarke& Bunbury, two doors down fromthe White Hart Hotel.One of their grandfathers wasalso a grocer, while the other wasa butcher. Their father was also agrocer and even at 83, continuesto work in the trade – for theMelody’s brother Kerry, who owns asupermarket in Palmerston North.For Alan and Peter Melody, itseemed the grocery trade was alsotheir destiny.Older brother Alan, stepped intothe business almost as soon ashe had finished his education atFrancis Douglas Boys’ College. Peter,also a FDMC Old Boy, experimentedwith a few different vocationsbefore succumbing to the familybusiness.In September 1988, Peter and Alanopened Pak’n Save in the soon to becompleted Centre City. It proved tobe a very good decision. That firstChristmas saw them achieve thehighest ever turnover for a Pak’nSave store in the Wellington region(lower North Island).The Pak’nSave brand has alwaysbeen about cutting out the frillsand offering customers goodquality goods at the cheapest pricesaround. Their brand spokesmanis a stickman and Peter and Alanare similarly “no frills” kind ofmen. They work hard and haveenjoyed raising their families inNew Plymouth as they grew theirbusiness.Over the years trade continuedto build and the brothers realizedthey needed more space. Theyconstructed the 50% bigger,purpose-built supermarket at theircurrent site on Leach St in 2006 andremember closing the Centre Citystore one day, and opening the newone the next.“It was a logistical nightmare,”recalls Peter.The Melody’s have seen a lot ofchanges over the 25 years they havebeen operating Pak’n Save.“Technology-wise, we startedoff with one computer,” says Alan.“Now of course, we have wholenetworks.”“The information availablenowadays is incredible,” says Peter.“Sales figures on various productlines, stock levels, profitability, it’ssomething else.”They also have a prettycomprehensive website whereyou can get great budgeting tips,mealtime ideas, find out the latestspecials – and check out the staff’sHarlem Shake video!“But like all retailing, it still comesdown to the fundamentals – theright price, the right quality andgood customer service,” Alancomments.The pair has demarcatedtheir responsibilities with Peterresponsible for the day-to-dayrunning and Alan looking after theadministrative tasks.