Mr Vaudrey and his wife Claire are the news owners and operators of Pak’nSave Dunedin, in Hillside Rd, having manned the helm since mid-September.
Mr Vaudrey, who was born and raised in Dunedin, began his grocery career stacking shelves at New World Centre City in 1989, working in various departments in the proceeding years before progressing to store manager, and said he always enjoyed the busy nature of supermarkets.
He then became the owner and operator of New World Westport, along with Mrs Vaudrey, in 2010.
The pair then moved to Christchurch to take the reins of the former New World South City, and were involved in the development and opening of New World Durham St.
Mr Vaudrey said it was great to be back in his hometown of Dunedin and they were both very grateful for the opportunity.
Running stores in Christchurch for the past 14 years had been a “great adventure”.
“I think it’s just very humbling for both of us to have gone full circle, to have moved around the South Island, and it’s very humbling to be back here in Dunedin — the place we call home.”
Mr Vaudrey described Dunedin as a town with city amenities, and it felt “fulfilling” and “very rewarding” to be taking charge of a supermarket here.
Over his time operating other supermarkets around the country, he had learnt that the customer was the most important person.
“If you focus on the customer all of the time and what they need, and you have a great team of people to help you do that, it’s not that complicated.”
Mr Vaudrey said their goal was to provide the Dunedin community with “the best Pak’nSave experience they can get”.
They planned to reinvest in the store over the next couple of years, including replacing some equipment in the bakery section, and make sure their 330 staff were all on the same page to give their customers what they needed.
“We’ve got an important part to play in feeding the South Island and that’s our role here in Dunedin as well.”
