Progressive Enterprises Limited

Progressive Enterprises is pleased to announce that  FreshChoice Springlands has been purchased by Countdown, effective 27 September 2010, and will be converted to a new generation Countdown.

Progressive Enterprises Limited Managing Director Peter Smith, said it was a positive move for the business to keep this supermarket within the Progressive family. “The store will be refurbished to the new generation Countdown design and layout qualities and expanded to 4000m² in the near future,” said Mr Smith.

John Derry and his family have owned the store for more than 40 years said that they have given careful consideration to the approach from Progressive Enterprises to buy their store, “One of the key components for us was the ongoing employment of the staff who work at the Springlands store.

“Members of our family will continue to work in the store and we are leasing the site to Countdown,” said Mr Derry.

While the formal part of the sale and purchase agreement has been concluded, the conversion to Countdown will take place over an extended period of time. 

“This is the last in a series of FreshChoice stores which Countdown has purchased in the upper South Island in recent weeks,” said Mr Smith.  “While we were looking for new sites for Countdown supermarkets, it made sense to approach owners of FreshChoice stores to canvas their interest in selling. This resulted in the recent purchase of a number of FreshChoice stores.”

Progressive Enterprises introduced the new generation Countdown store format in September last year. 

FreshChoice and SuperValue General Manager, Mark Brosnan, said that new FreshChoice and SuperValue stores are planned to open in the future, and adds that these brands are an important part of the Progressive business now and in the future.

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