News and media releases

  12 March 2018: Countdown has announced that Managing Director Dave Chambers will leave the business on 30 June 2018. Dave has been with Countdown and Progressive Enterprises for 39 years in total, and has been Managing Director on two occasions, once between July 2011 and February 2015, and then again from Feb 2016. He also spent a year as Director of Woolworths S ...

Countdown has opened its second year of contestable funding for its Food Rescue charity partners, and in 2018 has increased the amount of funding available up to $120,000.

The Countdown Food Rescue Partners Contestable Fund was established in late 2016 in response to feedback from charities working in the food rescue space that there is limited funding dedicated to helping the sector grow and thrive.  

Before you start grinching about the creep of Christmas in late September, spare a thought for all the Kiwis that can’t get enough of the Christmas fare - no matter the time of the year! Kiwis seem to have a complete love affair with Christmas mince pies and chocolate, with tens of thousands of Christmas products flying off the shelves in October alone.

Countdown has today released its third Corporate Responsibility Report and signalled an ambitious new sustainability focus with the launch of 20 new commitments out to 2020.  

The goals fall under the three categories of People, Planet and Prosperity, and align with the United Nations’ 2015 Sustainable Development Goals, one of the first companies in New Zealand to do so.  

Countdown is recalling four Warburn Estate products sold in Countdown, FreshChoice and Supervalue stores nationwide from 25 November to 6 December 2017.

The Countdown Kids’ Hospital Appeal has raised an impressive $1.26 million for 13 children’s wards nationwide, with all proceeds used to buy much needed medical equipment to help Kiwi kids around the country.

The twelve-week appeal finished on 29 October; in the 11 years Countdown has run the appeal, more than $11.6 million has been raised.

Countdown and The Salvation Army have teamed up for their annual Countdown Food Rescue Christmas Appeal to help the growing number of New Zealanders for whom food is a wish list item this Christmas.

To launch the appeal, all 184 Countdown stores will each donate $500 worth of groceries to their local Salvation Army, contributing $92,000 of groceries to support The Salvation Army’s foodbanks nationally.

A crucial initiative to help women and girls who can’t afford sanitary products has been given a significant boost.

Countdown and The Salvation Army have teamed up with Kimberly-Clark's U by Kotex to provide free sanitary products through The Foodbank Project, New Zealand’s first online food bank.

Countdown, New Zealand’s leading online retailer, has dropped the price of its online shopping fees across both delivery and it’s Pick up service, making it even more accessible for all New Zealanders.

Pick up is now free if customers spend $50 or more providing greater convenience and a way for busy people to save time.

Parents nationwide have been spared the gruelling task of grocery shopping with kids thanks to five million pieces of free fruit to munch on at Countdown.