Ethan Vickery, co-founder of Kai Co Supermarket at the Northwood Supa Centre in Christchurch. Photo \/ Mike Thorpe<\/p>\n
Nine months later, despite their extensive market research and knowledge of the fresh food trade, they\u2019re in a position they hadn\u2019t anticipated. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve probably had 33% growth in the last three months, which is massive, right? That\u2019s what you\u2019d look at over five years if you\u2019re lucky,\u201d Ethan says. <\/p>\n
Evidence of their growing success can be seen in their need to replace broken shopping baskets, Shane says. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe bought about 100 shopping baskets and we\u2019re down to about 10 because people are breaking the handles because they\u2019re buying too much meat and stuff. <\/p>\n
\u201cAnd our 100 litre trolleys aren\u2019t big enough, so we\u2019ve just ordered some 200 litre ones. People are doing quite big shops, which is awesome because it\u2019s increased our average spend, but it is an indication that people are getting the whole shopping requirement, or most of their shopping requirements from us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Not only is the shopping spend increasing, so is the number of shoppers. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re rapidly approaching 10,000 customers a week, which is way in excess of what we anticipated. We\u2019d anticipated 5000 to 6000. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re getting hammered by agents and mall owners and developers about, you know, \u2018come to our site\u2019 and it\u2019s pretty cool to be able to say that you\u2019ve got that sort of foot traffic when you\u2019re negotiating leases,\u201d Shane says.<\/p>\n
Ethan and Shane Vickery, owners of independent Christchurch supermarket Kai Co. Photo \/ Mike Thorpe<\/p>\n
They\u2019ve decided the time is right for another store and are in the throes of signing a lease to open their second Christchurch operation. Shane says it will be significantly larger than their first store. <\/p>\n
\u201cAbout a third bigger than this one, as far as a footprint goes. No need for us to increase the out-the-back space, but retail area, we\u2019ll lift that by about 400 square metres or something. It enables us to look at alcohol for the next one,\u201d Shane says before Ethan interjects. <\/p>\n
\u201cAnd fresh fish,\u201d Ethan says. \u201cI think we\u2019ve realised if we want to be a serious competitor, you\u2019ve got to offer everything, right? Because people are so time poor. If you can eliminate as many stops as possible. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt won\u2019t be a focus, but it\u2019ll be there for people who need it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Shane says fresh fish could set them apart from many supermarkets. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re looking at partnering up with a family that\u2019s been doing it in Christchurch for 70 years.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kai Co Supermarket at Northwood Supa Centre, Christchurch. Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n
The location of that store remains a secret for now, but the Vickerys are less guarded about their future plans \u2013 and they\u2019re just getting started. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve got a really supportive bank and they\u2019re supporting us to roll out potentially another five [Kai Co stores] in the next two, two and a half years or so,\u201d Shane says. <\/p>\n
Shane and Ethan smile when asked what they\u2019ve learned over the past nine months. <\/p>\n
They say their future stores will differ from the original. The career butchers came into the supermarket game with an obvious strength in fresh food, but dealing with grocery suppliers was new and it took time to form relationships and gain trust. <\/p>\n
\u201cEthan\u2019s been doing some fantastic work dealing directly with suppliers and getting as many of them on board as possible. Still have a good relationship with Woolworths wholesale supply, and I think they\u2019re doing a pretty good job of honouring their commitment. Maybe others need to look at themselves and do a bit better,\u201d Shane says. <\/p>\n