The wonderful story of Foodstuffs South Island has now been recorded in a book which illustrates the journey and outstanding success of the Foodstuffs independent grocers in the South Island and throughout New Zealand, from 1928-2018. ‘Feeding the South’ records, acknowledges and celebrates the evolution of the Foodstuffs Co-operative throughout the South Island.
“Feeding the South captures and preserves our collective history while celebrating our commitment to the Mainland community. I’m incredibly proud we can now share our story as one of New Zealand’s great success stories,” says Steve Anderson, Chief Executive, Foodstuffs South Island.
“Since the time Foodstuffs was formed in the South Island, generations of families have played a part in our development and evolution.”
The Author, Alan Malcolmson has a passion for all things Foodstuffs, having worked for Foodstuffs in the South Island for over 40 years. He started as an office boy in the Grosvenor Street, Dunedin warehouse in 1975 and held many positions with the company. He retired in April 2016 from his role of General Manager, Retail Operations.
“It has been a life-long journey for me having joined Foodstuffs in 1975. Retiring in 2016 after 40 years, I had a conversation with Steve Anderson about the history of the business, the incredible people, my journey and the passion I had for Foodstuffs,” said Malcolmson.
“Foodstuffs South Island has touched so many lives over the years and so many families have had family members working in the stores and being part of the ‘Foodies’ team. Very few companies have the same philosophies and high standards, 90 years in the making. I really felt the Foodstuffs South Island journey and history was a story that had to be preserved by being researched thoroughly, recorded and shared. It’s fair to say my retirement was put on hold, and my first endeavour as an author began,” says Malcolmson.
One of the favourite chapters for Malcolmson is the disasters chapter, which would seem unusual to some. “The disasters chapter really stands out for me as it demonstrates the incredible resilience, passion, team-work and camaraderie we have when faced with incredible challenges and at times sheer devastation. Those were the times I was proudest to be a member of the Foodstuffs South Island team,” says Malcolmson.
The book is a sweeping history of the days of the local grocer to modern larger supermarkets like PAK’nSAVE, and includes mergers, the evolution of systems and technology and the most important element and biggest asset to a successful business, the people, who share their memorable stories with pride.
There are 2,500 printed copies of ‘Feeding the South – A history of Foodstuffs in the South Island 1928-2018’.
