1 August, 2025

Devonport grocer checks out after 25 years

New World owner John Ashton is finally heading down the retirement aisle. He tells Rob Drent about the changes and challenges of his tenure – and the heart attack that saved his life.

Moving on… New World owner John Ashton and wife Jo, who are leaving this month

John Ashton remembers the day like it was yesterday – 25 September, 2014. Devonport New World at 6.30am. A heart attack.
“It happened so suddenly, I grabbed hold of the checkout counter, I thought if I went down I’d die.”
A quadruple coronary bypass followed and a time of reflection and change.
“I credit the heart attack with saving my life,” he says. “Fifty per cent of people who have heart attacks do not survive. It made me think about work-life balance.”
He changed his diet markedly and cut back his working hours. His days are now more like 7am to 3pm.
He exercises “365 days a year – on a spin bike in front of the TV”.
But Ashton never thought about giving up work. “You’ve had an incident that has put you close to the other side, but you want to come back stronger and have a point to prove that you’re not finished yet.”
He carried on as the Devonport New World owner-operator for another 11 years. But 17 August is Ashton’s last day.
Nothing special is planned at the store. “It’ll just be a normal working day,” Ashton says matter-of-factly. The store will close early, at 7 pm, so stocktaking and the like can be taken care of for new owners James and Claire Varcoe, formerly of Onerahi New World in Whangarei.
Ashton has just turned 72, and has clocked up 25 years at Devonport New World, having taken over from Blue Secker in 2000.
“I actually decided to call it a day when I was 71, but it takes some time to get things sorted out.”
The new owners had to be found and the business handed over, but Ashton now looks forward to what the future holds.
“I wanted to have time to do some other things in my life, like overseas travel, family and social work.”
He and wife Jo are planning a trip to Europe, focusing on Greece, Italy and England.
In the social work sphere, Ashton is aiming to help the Little Sisters of the Poor in Ponsonby, a charity which receives no government funding.
Ashton was born and bred in Huntly, attending Huntly College. His first job was working in the “Ford and BMW car business” in Hamilton.
But he was drawn to people and retail. He bought his first grocery store in Paeroa in 1990, a Four Square with five staff. When the Flagstaff interviewed him last week, he could remember them all by name.
He bought the Morrinsville New World in 1996 and stayed there for 18 months before continuing his move up the Foodstuffs chain, buying the Matamata New World.
He recalls it was while he was in Matamata that supermarkets were able to extend the sales range to include alcohol. “I remember as a first step buying a beer fridge so I could sell cold beer to the tradies.”
His next move was to Devonport, buying the New World and a house just around the corner in Calliope Rd.
In 2000, the supermarket had 105 staff. That has grown to 132 full- and part-timers. The store carries more than 22,000 different stock units.
“It’s a lot to look after,” Ashton says.
In the early years Ashton was working six days a week, starting at 6 am and going through to 8 pm, changing the store to suit his standards and building his team. “They were heavy days.”
The store has been revamped four times during his 25 years, introducing major changes to the produce, butchery, deli, seafood, bakery and wine departments.
The supermarket lines have reflected changing eating habits.
“Free range and organic products have become very popular.”
Gluten-free items have increased to meet customers’ dietary needs, while craft beer options have mushroomed in the liquor aisle. Two years ago the store launched a “well-being” area of specialist food products.

National recognition… John Ashton and Devonport New World won an award in 2024 for customer service

Another innovation was the June 2021 introduction of pensioner discount day, offering seniors 5 per cent off on a Tuesday. It has grown so popular, customers come from Takapuna, Glenfield, Browns Bay, Auckland City and Waiheke Island.
“It was an instant hit and has become one of the busiest days in the supermarket,” says Ashton.
“What is wonderful about the day is that people come in for their shopping and also the fellowship. You often see people standing around talking.
“What’s so special about our local community is that everybody knows everybody else in Devonport.”
He remembers the Covid lockdown as “challenging for the staff” but adds that Devonport people “were very compliant and understood quickly the rules around social distancing.
“It was difficult times but I think everyone got used to it in the end.”
The hardest aspect as a store owner was the availability of stock: Covid toilet paper runs were one thing, but sudden sugar and flour shortages were taxing.
Ashton and Jo would often find themselves driving to Pack’nSave supermarkets in Wairau Park and Silverdale to buy as much flour and sugar as they could to keep Devonport New World supplied.
“It’s been an absolute pleasure and an honour to be a grocer to the Devonport community and to be involved in the different societies and clubs and fundraising events that Devonport New World has been able to help with.”
Ashton has always been coy about the amounts he has donated to the community over the years, and always refused to publicise any donations or their amounts in the Flagstaff advertising he ran in his early years.
However, he doesn’t bat an eyelid when I suggest the donations must have run into the millions over the last 25 years.
Publicity and promotion “should not be the reason” for donations, he says. “It is a gift to the community. It’s something I’ve done because I wanted to be involved.”
He believes that “all businesses, including local businesses, should have a social conscience”.
Ashton ended up moving to Milford to give himself a bit of separation from the store.
“I think about work on the way in and on the drive back I reflect on my day. Living around the corner was great, but it was too much of a trap to pop into work to finish something off.”
New World Devonport is well known for its staff coming from all over the world. Ashton has helped hundreds of recent immigrants from Russia, China, India, Ukraine, the Philippines and other nations to become permanent residents, leading to citizenship.
“They have a job here and get a start.” Recently he’s sponsored seven Sudanese students into New Zealand – “most of whom have worked at Devonport New World”.
Additionally, “lots of local kids have started their working lives with a job at the Devonport New World checkout or grocery department”.
Ashton wishes the new owners all the best and is confident he leaves behind a highly functioning store “with a wonderful staff”.
He says he will miss the job but more so his interactions with the community: he still loves walking the aisles, talking to customers, hearing about their lives and what is going on in Devonport. “I’ve always been about the community.”
Ashton has seen the advent of upmarket food retailers such as Farro and online food services including Woop and Hello Fresh.
The supermarket field generally has a more corporatised feel than in years gone by, but Ashton still regards his career in traditional terms. “I’m a business owner and a director, all those things, but the bottom line is I’m John Ashton. I’m a grocer. End of story.”