An independent supermarket in the Hastings suburb of Flaxmere has announced it will close its doors a week after grocery giant Woolworths opens its new $25 million store nearby.
In a social media post on Friday, Flaxmere Supermarket’s owners said after careful consideration, they had decided to close at the end of the first week of July.
Their opening in April 2025 was celebrated by the community after Foodstuffs pulled its New World supermarket from the same building and exited the suburb in February 2024.
The supermarket’s closing statement says they had come into the community “with limited knowledge and experience about the local area, but with good intentions and a strong willingness to work hard and serve the people of Flaxmere. We tried our best to fit in and learn and become part of the community.”
TW Property chief executive Terry May said Flaxmere Supermarket had leased the building just before Woolworths, which opens on June 25, committed to building in Flaxmere. “I was aware the supermarket planned to close, but the timing was in their court,” May said on Friday. He said they had negotiated a lease termination contract with Flaxmere Supermarket’s owners that both parties were happy with.
The Flaxmere Supermarket building along with the majority of the existing buildings is set to be demolished to make way for a major redevelopment. May said a new road through the middle of the village, to be constructed as part of that development, would “broadly run through where the supermarket and other tenancies on that side sit now”.
One of those tenancies is Flaxmere Pharmacy, which has been part of the community for more than 30 years. It will be will be relocating in the coming days and opening at a new premises inside the Woolworths Supermarket development. Its new site has three consulting rooms, a full range of healthcare services, plus NZ Post and Kiwibank services.
Hastings District Council has championed Woolworths’ arrival in the suburb, as well as the Flaxmere Village development.
Mayor Wendy Schollum said she was sorry to hear Flaxmere Supermarket would close. “When the New World supermarket closed, there was real concern across the community, particularly for older residents, those living with disabilities, people without reliable transport and families who depended on having somewhere local to buy their groceries.
“The owners and staff stepped in during that period of uncertainty and provided Flaxmere with an important local service when it was most needed. That took real commitment, and I know many people will be grateful for what they have done. I want to sincerely thank the owners and staff for their contribution to Flaxmere and wish them every success for the future.”
Schollum said the opening of the new Woolworths next week would be a positive milestone for Flaxmere, bringing “long-term certainty of local supermarket access, new jobs and further investment into the suburb”.
LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
