New Zealanders save $30 million, and there’s more to come

New Zealanders save $30 million, and there’s more to come

Everyday prices dropped long-term on more than 700 grocery items

24 October, 2014 - Countdown has announced today that New Zealand shoppers have saved more than $30 million in the first year of its Price Lockdown and Price Drop initiative – a bold programme that’s seen the supermarket drop the price of more than 700 grocery items long-term, with many more in the pipeline.

Introduced at Labour weekend last year, the price down focus has cut the everyday price of the grocery items Kiwis buy most often, including dropping the price of the popular Homebrand white and wheatmeal bread range to just $1.

Countdown Managing Director, Dave Chambers, says the company’s focus on driving down prices has delivered real savings benefits for customers.

“Very few people in New Zealand do one weekly shop anymore and even fewer plan weeks in advance to bulk-buy grocery items. We’ve recognised that our customers want certainty on the things they buy most often. We started Price Lockdown and Price Drop so Countdown customers can come in any time and know they’ll pay a low price on these 700 grocery items every single day,” says Chambers.

“And it’s not just us noticing these positive outcomes for Kiwis. Statistics New Zealand’s Food Price Index shows that grocery food prices have decreased 1.6 per cent from September 2013 to September 2014*. Countdown is committed to getting cheaper and lowering prices for longer. As the Price Lockdown and Price Drop programme keeps growing, our customers will save even more during year two.”

The price down range includes canned tomatoes, fresh chicken, feta, frozen vegetables, quick oats, tortillas, instant coffee, flour and sugar as well as paper towels, dog food, dishwashing liquid and wet wipes.

“This time last year we lowered the price of 45 products which are all still down today. Since then we’ve added more and more products to the programme every week, and we’ll keep doing this,” says Chambers.

Some key items from the Price Lockdown and Price Drop range include:

* Food Price Index: September 2014: www.stats.govt.nz/browse_for_stats/economic_indicators/prices_indexes/FoodPriceIndex_HOTPSep14.aspx

ENDS

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