Gilmours, the cash‘ncarry wholesale warehouse operation owned by Foodstuffs (Auckland) Ltd, is moving to a new way of operating which will bring renewed benefits for the Gilmours business, staff and customers.

Following in the footsteps of the owner-operator model practiced throughout the rest of the Foodstuffs portfolio of brands, Gilmours will move from a centrally managed business base to the owner-operator business model throughout the first half of 2010.

The company, which is New Zealand’s largest wholesale food and beverage distributor to the food service and convenience sector, will continue to be supported by a support centre, with each store run by an owner-operator, allowing a greater flexibility in the way the business meets the needs of its customers.

Foodstuffs (Auckland) Ltd MD Tony Carter says the move is a well considered decision which guarantees Gilmours a long and bright future.

“It makes sense for Gilmours to operate in the same business environment as its sister brands. Gilmours North Shore has operated under this model since late 2008 and the customer benefits have been significant.

”Following this success we have every confidence that rolling this model out to the other branches is the best way forward for Gilmours, its staff and customers”.

As the branches begin to transition, customers will see a new supermarket style checkout and point of sale system, plus the introduction of SAP into the stores providing state of the art accounting for the owner/operators. The new owner-operators will have the ability to buy directly from suppliers as well as through Foodstuffs, meaning they are able to tailor their offer to the needs of their customers.

 All Foodstuffs stores are 100 per cent New Zealand-owned and operated. Other Foodstuffs brands include PAK’nSAVE, New World, Four Square and Liquorland.