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Tag: countdown

  • Countdown cuts off kids’ access to energy drinks

    Countdown cuts off kids’ access to energy drinks

    Countdown’s implemented its energy drink age-restrictions on Tuesday, in an effort to curb the growing obesity rate in New Zealand.

    Customers will now need to produce ID to prove they are over the age of 16 in order to purchase energy drinks across Countdown’s 180 stores.

    According to Countdown general manager of corporate affairs, safety and sustainability Kiri Hannifin, support for the initiative has been overwhelmingly positive since it was announced in June.

    “We have had incredible feedback from parents, teachers, health workers and our customers about our decision. I think New Zealanders were ready for this discussion around energy drinks,” Hannifin said.

    “We made our decision after engaging with health and education leaders, but also in talking with our team, many of whom are parents themselves.

    “Across the board, we found communities of people who are seeking help to address New Zealand’s high child obesity rates.”

    New Zealand’s has the third-highest obesity rate in the OECD.

    Public health advocate Dr Lance O’Sullivan said reducing children’s access to energy drinks is a step in the right direction.

    “Children don’t understand either the short or longer-term consequences of consuming drinks with high amounts of sugar and caffeine, and sometimes we need to step in until they are old enough to make that decision for themselves,” O’Sullivan said.

    The New Zealand Beverage Council spokesperson Stephen Jones said in June while he respected the right of Countdown to make this decision, New Zealand already has some of the strongest energy drink regulations in the world.

    “This is really a case of a solution looking for a problem,” Jones said.

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  • Countdown partners with UK tech startup to tackle dietary requirements

    Countdown partners with UK tech startup to tackle dietary requirements

    Countdown-owner Woolworths Group has partnered with UK tech startup Spoon Guru to add new filtering options to its online shopping experience, allowing customers with food allergies or dietary and lifestyle restrictions to sort its products based on their needs.

    According to Woolworths general manager of digital experience Ananth Sarathy, the group is the first in New Zealand and Australia to partner with the startup.

    “The platform will blend our in-house digital and data capabilities with Spoon Guru’s world-leading machine learning and AI to derive rich and detailed product attributes for our customers,” Sarathy said.

    “It’s early days but the initial response from customers using the filters have been positive, with many shoppers using the feature to build lists to shop in-store as well as online.”

    The dietary indexing was rolled out initially in May, with up to 30,000 products now filterable based on consumer needs, such as gluten free, low fat, vegan and vegetarian.

    Spoon Guru aims to help consumers all over the world struggling to manage diets based due to health, lifestyle, and religious reasons.

    “The technology provides an innovative solution to a world-wide pain-point,” Spoon Guru co-founder and co-chief executive Markus Stripf said.

    “Sixty-four per cent of the world’s population is on some form of exclusion diet and whether this is due to allergy, intolerance or health and lifestyle choices, the demand for a more personalised approach to food shopping is clear.”

    Using proprietary tagging technology, Spoon Guru combines AI and algorithms with human expertise, indexing products based on certain values, making them more accessible and searchable on digital storefronts.

    Spoon Guru has partnered with other international retailers, such as Tesco, Jet and Albert Heijn, but Woolworths Group is its first partner in Australia and New Zealand.

    Spoon Guru’s partnership with Tesco began in November 2017, and has changed the way its consumers interact with its online channel – with certain search terms increasing in popularity, and some search terms seeing up to a 500 per cent increase in conversion.

    “It’s incredibly rewarding to have the opportunity to help millions of consumers around the world to find the right foods for their personal needs,” Stripf said.

    “Jet, Albert Heijn and Woolworths are all forward-thinking brands that share the same passion as Spoon Guru, making them the perfect partners for our business as we grow into a global solution.”

  • Countdown stores more accessible for New Zealanders

    Countdown stores more accessible for New Zealanders

    Countdown is taking steps to make the supermarket chain more accessible to people with different needs, opening the doors to the country’s first accredited ‘Be. Accessible’ supermarket in Hawera, and testing a new car park monitoring app to ensure mobility car parks are kept free for the people who need them most.

    Reopening earlier this month after a significant refurbishment, Countdown’s Hawera store has a number of new features that make it more comfortable and accessible for people.

    They include a visual alarm system for emergencies, and an EVAC chair for wheelchairs at the emergency exit, contrasting colors for doors and reduced natural light in the entry area to avoid glare for visually impaired customers, wider aisles for wheelchairs, mobility scooters and prams and team areas that have been designed for people with a range of mobility needs, to name just a few.

    “Sometimes the smallest changes can make a huge difference, like light switches that aren’t too high to reach if you’re in a wheelchair or mobility scooter, or a fire alarm that flashes lights instead of just a siren so that hearing impaired customers know they need to exit,” Kiri Hannifin, Countdown’s general manager of corporate affairs, safety and sustainability, said in a statement at the time of the launch.

    “It’s really important to us that all New Zealanders feel welcome when they shop with us, and we’re proud to have worked alongside Be. Accessible to help guide us to make our Hawera store more user-friendly. We’ll now be taking these learnings to our future store designs.”

    Countdown is also planning to offer Quiet Hours in its Hawera store future, which will support a low-sensory shopping experience, beneficial to people with Autism in particular.

    The supermarket chain this month has also started trialing a new app at its Dunedin stores, which enables users to upload photos of cars parked in mobility car parks that don’t display a valid permit.

    The Access Aware app, from CCS Disability Action, alerts the relevant store team, which enables them to relay a message over the store’s PA to ask the car owner to move their vehicle to another spot.

    “Having mobility car parks as close to our store entrance as possible is incredibly important for any of our customers with mobility needs,” Hannifin said.

    “While the vast majority of New Zealanders are respectful of ensuring mobility parks are available for customers with the right permits, introducing the Access Aware app is an opportunity to reiterate that these car parks are there for a purpose, to help someone get in and out of our stores more easily,” says Kiri Hannifin.

    Countdown is trialing the app for three months in its four Dunedin stores – Dunedin Central, Dunedin South, Mailer Street and Andersons Bay – and will look at the customer and team feedback, as well as the number of reports,  received before it considers rolling out the technology across other stores.

    Countdown is also making its mobility car parks across the country wider, and revamping them with new blue, non-slip paint to make it easier for the customers who need them to use them.

    “Together with improving signage and road markings for mobility car parks across our network, we want to make it clear for any customer with mobility needs that these car parks are here for you,” Hannifin said.

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  • Countdown shares impact of family violence

    Countdown shares impact of family violence

    Countdown was one of the first companies in New Zealand to adopt a family violence leave policy across its business, and it is encouraging other retailers to do the same by the sharing the positive impact its policy has had for employees since it was implemented in November 2016.

    Last week, Kiri Hannifin, the supermarket’s general manager of corporate affairs, safety and sustainability, revealed that Countdown has actively supported 28 team members impacted by family violence and provided more than 100 days of paid leave to team members through the policy. Eighty-six per cent of those seeking support have been female.

    Hannifin was speaking alongside the Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon Iain Lees-Galloway, Under-Secretary Jan Logie and representatives from Shine and the Human Rights Commission at Countdown’s Cable Car Lane store on Thursday last week, ahead of the government’s Domestic Violence – Victims’ Protection Act, which is coming into effect on April 1.

    “Countdown recognises what a significant issue family violence is and as a large employer we wanted to do something meaningful to support our team and show leadership on a really important issue,” Hannifin said.

    “We are committed to providing a safe and supportive workplace at Countdown, and we care about our team and their families – so implementing this policy was just the right thing to do.”

    The range of support Countdown has provided to date also includes free counselling sessions, including on-site; variations to hours; relocation; longer-term leave and facilitating where to seek extra support.

    The policy has also opened up the conversation about family violence across the business, according to Hannifin.

    “Through training, [we have] given our people skills on how to approach and talk to team members who are impacted by family violence,” she said.

    “The more openly our country’s leaders and businesses talk about family violence, the easier we make it for people to ask for our help.

    “That’s why the new Act is so important, not just because of the additional support it gives New Zealanders but because it sends a real signal to all of us that we each have a role to play.”

    Hannifin added that Countdown is very willing to share its knowledge and learnings from the implementing the policy over the last few years, and she encouraged other businesses to think strongly about what they can do to support their team who might be impacted by family violence.

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  • Aqua Spirit Presents Hong Kong’s First New Year Nude Noir Party

    Aqua Spirit Presents Hong Kong’s First New Year Nude Noir Party

    This New Year’s Eve, guests to aqua spirit are invited to a themed dress-up world of lace, leather and sensual festivities at Hong Kong’s best location to view the world-renowned fireworks – One Peking in Tsim Sha Tsui.

    An underground-style, countdown event oozing with sex appeal – aqua spirit’s New Year Nude Noir Party is a first for Hong Kong. The sensual evening calls for guests to don leather, lace and hide behind sexy masks for a night of ultimate naughtiness.

    Doors open at 9pm. Tickets start at HKD$1,500, for early bird, which includes entry to aqua spirit, free-flow champagne as well as free-bar for premium spirits such as Tanqueray and Ketel One.

    Throughout the night, free-flow gourmet Italian and Japanese canapés will be served. DJ Abel Rogers will be on the decks mixing upbeat sounds and sexy tunes – adding to the risqué atmosphere.

    $2000 per person including free-flow drinks from 11pm and canapés from 1-3am

    $1500 early bird price until 15 December

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