it is not to be confused with the supermarket chain in california currently owned by safeway inc. . this article needs additional citations for verification . please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . february 2012 learn how and when to remove this template message pak nsave type private subsidiary industry retail founded 1985 ; 31 years ago headquarters wellington new zealand number of locations 53 parent foodstuffs website www.paknsave.co.nz pak nsave stylised pak nsave originally pak n save is a new zealand discount food warehouse chain owned by the foodstuffs cooperative . founded in 1985 pak nsave was the last of the three major new zealand supermarket chains the other two are countdown and new world to be founded . as of november 2015 there are 53 pak nsave stores operating across the north and south islands of new zealand . pak nsave s key policy is to provide everyday food and groceries at low prices which they state in their current slogan as of march 2013 our policy nz s lowest food prices . stores are large and have a no frills environment often with unlined interiors and concrete floors . customers are left to pack their own bags and charged for plastic bags in most stores . many stores offer boxes set on or under a large desk where customers can pack their groceries for easier convenience . pak nsave is still the cheapest supermarket in new zealand . 1 2 contents 1 history 2 operations 2.1 competition 3 marketing 4 fuel discounts 5 fundraising 6 references 7 external links history edit pak nsave was developed following a trip by a group of foodstuffs executives to the united states in 1985 . on that visit they saw cub foods operated by supervalu pak n save operated by safeway and other box warehouse supermarkets . foodstuffs then copied this format in new zealand . the original pak nsave format was almost an identical copy of safeway s pak n save chain in northern california . the first store styled pak n save 3 opened in june 1985 at kaitaia in the north island . 3 operations edit pak nsave store in new plymouth as of november 2015 there are 53 pak nsave stores across new zealand . the name probably originates from the cost saving practice of leaving customers to pack their own groceries with checkout operators simply placing the products purchased back into a trolley . pak nsave provides the cardboard boxes used for shipping products to the store or plastic supermarket bags can be purchased at the checkout for 10 cents . customers are encouraged to purchase longer lasting bags or to bring their own . the stores are laid out as supermarket aisles but with minimalistic design and often perpendicular to the checkout lanes rather than the traditional parallel found in other new zealand supermarkets and retailers . extra products that are not on shelves are stacked above the shelves on the pallets they were delivered in . meaning that the floor space can be used for retail and storage . the stores are supplied daily from their co operative distributor foodstuffs . pak nsave stores often buys stock in bulk . this process means that stores don t offer a wide variety of brands and pack sizes as full service supermarkets with products often restricted to market leaders and store brands . a 2009 consumer magazine survey noticed the lack of range especially in the pet food and toilet paper categories . 4 most stores have self checkout and some have self scanning facilities . self checkout facilities are small checkout for express 15 items or less purchases where customers scan and bag their own groceries with several self checkouts monitored over by a single staff member for assistance and to clear any restricted transactions e.g. alcohol . self scanning facilities shop n go are where a pre registered customer scans each item with a hand held scanner as they put them in their trolley . this reduces waiting time at the checkout with most customers only requiring to pay for the groceries although random rescans do take place . all stores have conventional checkout operator scanning available . competition edit pak nsave s main competitors are countdown owned by progressive enterprises and foodstuffs full service supermarket new world . in the annual consumer magazine survey of supermarket prices pak nsave has been named the country s cheapest supermarket either unanimously or by majority of centres surveyed in all eleven surveys since the current survey methodology was adopted in 2003 . the latest survey was conducted in may 2013 which was based on the purchase of forty common products including food non alcoholic drinks personal care and cleaning items but excluding meat fresh fruit and vegetables due to quality comparison issues and alcohol due to local licensing rules and heavy discounting practises . in the survey pak nsave was named cheapest in six of the seven centres surveyed north auckland south east auckland tauranga napier hastings christchurch and dunedin and was named second cheapest in the remaining centre wellington behind countdown . 5 pak nsave also came out the cheapest supermarkets in the 2001 and 2002 consumer magazine surveys . these surveys were paper surveys where prices on 140 items were recorded by surveyors visiting the supermarket and recording the shelf prices . however the method was prone to supermarkets cheating by temporarily marking down shelf prices while the surveyor was in store and the method was scrapped in 2003 . 6 since then the survey is conducted on only forty items purchased by undercover surveyors through the checkouts and the prices taken from the till receipt with the food purchased donated to local food banks . marketing edit pak nsave is well known for its cut price television and print adverts utilising a stickman nicknamed stickman in black on a yellow background occasionally the colour scheme is reversed including during the 2011 rugby world cup and the 2012 summer olympics . the television adverts are voiced by comedian paul ego . 7 in 2011 the stickman adverts were one of the finalists for best ad in the annual fair go ad awards but ultimately lost by landslide to the new zealand lotteries commission s wilson the dog adverts . 8 fuel discounts edit pak nsave offers fuel discounts to shoppers for spending a qualifying amount on shopping . pak nsave stores with on site pak nsave fuel filling stations offer vouchers to use at these stations . the pak nsave fuel vouchers are unique in that they can only be used at the fuel site associated with the store of purchase whereas all other new zealand supermarkets fuel discount vouchers operate at any participating station across the country . stores without on site pak nsave fuel filling stations offer vouchers for use at mobil service stations before january 2013 the vouchers were accepted at mobil instead . competition for fuel discounts has grown in the past few years with cases of offering discounts of 50 cents per litre to customers when they spend at least 400 in store . the standard fuel price at the pak nsave pump can often be higher than that of neighbouring service stations thereby partially negating the pak nsave discount . fundraising edit in november 2015 pak nsave stores around new zealand participated in the annual movember fundraising effort raising nz 106 000 for movember new zealand . this was the largest sum ever raised by a new zealand company for the charity . 9 references edit pak nsave wins price fight again . bay of plenty times . 22 february 2015 . retrieved 21 march 2015 . pak nsave wins the supermarket price wars . scoop . 5 november 2014 . retrieved 21 march 2015 . a b allen christine 5 august 2015 . couple s big gamble paid off . the northern advocate . retrieved 25 march 2016 . vass beck 11 september 2009 . where to find the cheapest groceries . the new zealand herald . retrieved 17 december 2009 . cheapest supermarket in the country revealed . the new zealand herald . 5 june 2013 . retrieved 11 june 2013 . dearnaley matthew 5 september 2003 . grocers scramble after skulduggery in survey . the new zealand herald . retrieved 22 february 2012 . comedians freestyle through laughs . the southland times via stuff.co.nz . 29 november 2012 . retrieved 31 january 2013 . fair go ad awards 26 october . television new zealand . 26 october 2011 . retrieved 23 february 2012 . pak n save sets movember record . stuff . retrieved 2015 12 03 . external links edit official website retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title pak % 27nsave & oldid 744530178 categories supermarkets of new zealandcatering and food service companies of new zealandretail companies established in 1985discount stores1985 establishments in new zealandhidden categories use new zealand english from august 2015all wikipedia articles written in new zealand englishuse dmy dates from january 2013articles needing additional references from 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