The Star: June 01, 2017
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<strong>The</strong> <strong>Star</strong> 15<br />
News<br />
Latest Christchurch news at www.<br />
Thursday <strong>June</strong> 1 2<strong>01</strong>7<br />
Doing their bit for the rebuild<br />
.kiwi<br />
<strong>The</strong> Brown family has<br />
been in the grocery<br />
industry for 145<br />
years – and in August<br />
they will open their<br />
newest supermarket,<br />
FreshChoice City<br />
Market. Bridget<br />
Rutherford reports<br />
FOR THE Browns, the grocery<br />
industry is a family business.<br />
<strong>The</strong>y have been providing<br />
Cantabrians with fresh produce,<br />
food and bakery supplies for 145<br />
years.<br />
And come August, they<br />
will open their newest store,<br />
FreshChoice City Market, in <strong>The</strong><br />
Crossing on Lichfield St.<br />
It wasn’t a decision Neville and<br />
Heather Brown made lightly.<br />
<strong>The</strong> city was suffering following<br />
the devastating February 22,<br />
2<strong>01</strong>1, earthquake.<br />
Heather said they wanted to do<br />
their part in its regeneration.<br />
“For us it was about the CBD<br />
and what we could do to contribute<br />
to the rebuild with what we<br />
know how to do.<br />
“We understand that supermarkets<br />
are part of essential<br />
services and are important in<br />
building communities. <strong>The</strong>y are<br />
pivotal points for people to meet<br />
and feel comfortable. We want<br />
people to feel at home and they<br />
are part of our business. Everything<br />
we do, we do with them at<br />
the top of our mind.”<br />
She said their family was committed<br />
to Christchurch.<br />
“A supermarket in the CBD<br />
was a way Neville and I thought<br />
we could help the city regenerate<br />
and bring back a sense of normality.”<br />
It hasn’t been a quick process.<br />
Heather said they first approached<br />
the Carter Group in<br />
2<strong>01</strong>2 about including a supermarket<br />
in the CBD, and it had been<br />
a huge job trying to bring it to<br />
fruition.<br />
Although FreshChoice City<br />
COMMITTED: Neville and Heather Brown say they wanted to help regenerate the city centre<br />
following the February 22, 2<strong>01</strong>1, earthquake in the way they knew how – opening FreshChoice<br />
City Market.<br />
PHOTO: MARTIN HUNTER<br />
Market has taken about five years<br />
to develop, the family journey<br />
began in 1872.<br />
It was then when Neville’s<br />
great, great, great grandparents<br />
Charlie and Annie Chivers<br />
opened the Otipua General Store<br />
near Timaru.<br />
In the 1930s, his great uncle,<br />
John Renfrew Brown, owned<br />
a bakery and delivery truck in<br />
Dunedin.<br />
Neville bought his first supermarket<br />
at the age of 22 in 1972.<br />
In total, the Browns have<br />
owned seven supermarkets<br />
across South Canterbury and<br />
Canterbury.<br />
<strong>The</strong>y have owned FreshChoice<br />
Barrington since 1993.<br />
But the tradition doesn’t stop<br />
there.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Brown’s three sons grew up<br />
working in their supermarkets<br />
during school holidays and spent<br />
a lot of time in them.<br />
After going overseas and taking<br />
different career paths, they all<br />
decided to come back and go into<br />
the same business.<br />
<strong>The</strong>ir eldest, Julian and his<br />
wife Kirsty, bought FreshChoice<br />
Parklands in 2005.<br />
<strong>The</strong>ir middle son, Nick, owns<br />
FAMILY<br />
BUSINESS:<br />
Neville Brown’s<br />
great uncle,<br />
John Renfrew<br />
Brown, owned<br />
a bakery and<br />
delivery truck in<br />
Dunedin during<br />
the 1930s.<br />
SuperValue Sumner and <strong>The</strong><br />
Bottle-O Sumner, and is supported<br />
by his wife Anna.<br />
And their youngest, Scot and<br />
wife Jenna, own private beer<br />
and wine labels, including Black<br />
Thistle Wines and Boss Brewing<br />
Craft Beers.<br />
Scot also works in his parents’<br />
businesses.<br />
Neville and Heather are<br />
pleased to have all of their sons in<br />
the industry.<br />
“It’s a very exciting business<br />
to be in, it’s constantly changing<br />
and challenging,” Heather said.<br />
Neville has been in the business<br />
for 51 years, while Heather<br />
had marked just under 30.<br />
But they say they could not<br />
continue to do it without their<br />
customers and loyal, hardworking<br />
and skilled staff.<br />
“<strong>The</strong> attention to detail that’s<br />
required to get everything right,<br />
every day, is probably the biggest<br />
challenge.”<br />
Heather said they had a great<br />
team of people around them.<br />
“Over the years you built loyalty,<br />
you build skill and you build<br />
a culture. You couldn’t do it without<br />
the expertise, the loyalty and<br />
the hard work of a lot of people.<br />
<strong>The</strong>y are why this business is so<br />
stimulating and rewarding.”<br />
Although the family has been<br />
in the industry for more than a<br />
century – they are moving with<br />
the times.<br />
Heather said they spent a lot<br />
of time overseas looking at what<br />
they could do differently with<br />
FreshChoice City Market, and<br />
what was required in the new era<br />
with the rebuild.<br />
“That’s why we wanted to do<br />
something slightly different<br />
than the traditional format.<br />
FreshChoice City Market would<br />
expand on the fresh, artisan,<br />
locally-produced and grown<br />
products highlighting and<br />
showcasing some of Canterbury’s<br />
finest food specialists,” she said.<br />
“<strong>The</strong> supermarket will also be<br />
providing a full range of everyday<br />
groceries.”<br />
It would also have a convenient<br />
espresso bar at the entrance to<br />
the store for people wanting a<br />
quick caffeine shot on the run,<br />
she said.<br />
“We will be providing a onestop<br />
full service range of the best<br />
products at the best prices for<br />
busy people working in the city,<br />
for shoppers, and tourists.<br />
“FreshChoice City Market will<br />
be part of your day, every day.”<br />
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