Super Value

PHOTO: FILE

Priya Patel, co-owner of SuperValue Whanganui, has achieved a remarkable feat by becoming New Zealand’s youngest supermarket owner at just 21 years old. Her journey began at the tender age of five, helping her parents in their convenience store. “I grew up just playing in the store, serving customers while standing on a milk crate. The checkouts were my version of a PlayStation growing up,” Priya recalls.

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Even as she got older, Priya continued to assist her parents with their business, gradually learning the intricacies of store management and business procedures. She pursued higher education, earning a Bachelor of Commerce degree, and landed her first full-time job in a government department. However, after being made redundant, she realized that the traditional employed life wasn’t for her.

Priya Patel, co-o

“I always found myself going back to work at my parents’ business and helping them run it. My parents, they’re immigrants; they didn’t have education or financial stability when they came to New Zealand, but they’ve made it far in life. So if they can do it, then why not me? I’ve got the education.”

When the opportunity to buy SuperValue in Whanganui arose, Priya took a leap of faith and applied to become the owner-operator in co-ownership with her father. She refrains from disclosing the purchase cost but admits that since acquiring the business late last year, she has been putting in grueling 16-hour days. Despite the hard work, her passion remains as strong as ever. “This is where my heart truly lies, running a business,” she says.

However, Priya’s journey has not been without its challenges. “One of the things that I’ve really struggled with is just being young,” she shares. To become a franchisee, she had to build a strong case to prove her capability of running a supermarket. “I had long continuous weeks of training, traveling up and down to and from Wellington to become an approved franchisee. It was a struggle because it’s not easy for an organization to trust a young person to run a supermarket.”

SOURCE: STUFF