4 Square
FY23 was another very strong growth year for 4 Square and is credit to an unwavering focus on using customer data and insights to deliver consistent and outstanding experiences for customers every day, while amplifying the hallmark local to local customer service that 4 Square is known for.
Our 4 Square Owner Operators and teams have been committed to delivering on their three customer promises – Everyday Essentials, Fresh Faves and Local Service. Their efforts have made them the brand leader in our Customer Promises Tracker, with results above 80% across their experience, solutions and price promises.
In May 2022, in response to a worsening cost-of-living crisis in our communities, 4 Square was part of the Price Rollback programme, rolling back prices on the products that matter most to customers. Then in August 2022, we started the roll out of our ‘Value In Every Aisle’ initiative to make sure customers continued to get great value in the long term.
In addition to a strong focus on value, we were proud to continue delivering our new 4.0 ‘Local Fresh Grocer’ store formats across the North Island. These new formats focus on meeting the needs of the local communities we operate in and repositioning our brand for the next 100 years. It includes a shopper mission focused store layout and a focus on our hero fresh, “feed me now” and “feed us later” ranges. This new format also reinvigorates the 4 Square brand and puts digital front and centre, defining the customer experience from the moment they approach the store.
Our mahi was recognised externally when we were awarded Most Satisfied Customers in Canstar Blue’s supermarket category for the first time ever. We also picked up three awards in the Design Institute’s Best Awards, a Gold in the large brand identity category for our brand refresh, Gold in the Value in Design category for our 4.0 format work, and a Silver in the Design craft category for our brand font. Our radio content also continues to shine with our seasonal ads consistently ranking amongst the best for creativity.
Five ways we were here for customers in FY23
- Introduced ‘Everyday Great Price’ and ‘Special’ ticketing to make it as easy as possible for customers to get maximum value when shopping with us.
- Opened four new 4.0 stores, bringing 4 Square convenience to four new catchment areas – St Heliers, Cambridge, Remuera and Eden Terrace. We also completed a complete rebuild in Gisborne at Wainui Road, and a major refurbishment at Te Mata. Our Hokowhitu, Karori, Oneroa, Red Beach and Eastbourne stores were all upgraded to our new 4 Square 4.0 format.
- To bring our food-to-go Kiosks to life as part of our ‘local fresh grocer’ offering, we partnered with Flight Coffee, Deadwood Deli and Daily Bread, to ensure we provide consistently high-quality fresh products for our customers.
- We introduced the shopping list translator, Rārangi Kai, enabling customers to create their grocery list from over 200 everyday essentials in English and translate it into Te Reo Māori, supporting customers to integrate Te Reo Māori into their everyday lives.
- Through our revitalised marketing we demonstrated to customers how we ‘show up’ for them by providing meaningful solutions to their everyday needs and key missions. We showed up more frequently and consistently in media, showcasing a wider product range to cater to our customer needs.