Wellington’s most famous supermarket has been good to business partners Gary Baker and Ian Hong.
The pair have owned the New World, known as “Chaffers” since 2010. Centrally located near the harbour, the supermarket is one of the busiest in the region, with more than 60,0000 shoppers passing through each week and employing about 500 staff.
Baker owns 80% of the supermarket holding company while Hong owns the remaining 20%. The Te Aro building where it is located is owned by Foodstuffs.
The pair also individually and jointly own various commercial and residential properties, including a warehouse in Christchurch valued at $4.2 million, the Placemakers building in Kilbirnie worth $6.7m and a Mitre 10 Mega in New Plymouth valued at $15.5m.
They jointly own a $4.2m in Jack’s Point in Queenstown. Hong and his wife Mee Lee Chong live in a Khandallah home valued at $670,000 while Baker’s house in Wellington’s Seatoun Heights is valued at $1.3m.
Both had long careers in the grocery industry before buying the Wellington supermarket. Hong came to New Zealand from Malaysia in the 1960s before attending Cashmere High School in Christchurch.
He gave the school a generous donation in 2009 to go toward enhancing and improving the educational opportunities and experiences of its students.
2018: $75 million