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3 Guys (also operating as Gubays) was a New Zealand, Irish and US supermarket chain that operated between 1973 and 2003.


History


Albert Gubay era

Albert Gubay Albert Gubay, Order of St. Gregory the Great, KC*SG (9 April 1928 – 5 January 2016) was a Welsh businessman and philanthropist, who made his fortune with the Kwik Save retail chain, building it further on investments, mainly in property develo ...
established the supermarket chain while living in New Zealand from January 1973 to April 1974. Shares in rival supermarket chain
Foodtown Foodtown was a New Zealand supermarket chain owned by Progressive Enterprises. As with Woolworths, the Foodtown brand was phased out in the late 2000s, with all stores rebranded as Countdown by the end of 2011. Foodtown supermarkets were t ...
fell dramatically when his move to New Zealand was confirmed. Gubay asked the
Minister of Trade and Industry A Ministry of Trade and Industry, Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industry or variations is a ministry that is concerned with a nation's trade, industry and commerce. Notable examples are: List *Algeria: Ministry of Industry and ...
Joe Walding Joseph Albert Walding (18 June 1926 – 5 June 1985) was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party. He represented the Palmerston North for several terms. After his retirement from Parliament, he became High Commissioner to the United Kingdo ...
to force
Unilever Unilever plc is a British multinational consumer goods company with headquarters in London, England. Unilever products include food, condiments, bottled water, baby food, soft drink, ice cream, instant coffee, cleaning agents, energy dri ...
and other suppliers to do business with him. However, an investigation found the suppliers were not breaking the law, and Unilever publicly offered to supply Gubay on similar terms to other buyers. The first store was opened in
Māngere Māngere () or Mangere is one of the largest suburbs in Auckland, in northern New Zealand. It is located on mainly flat land on the northeastern shore of the Manukau Harbour, to the northwest of Manukau City Centre and 15 kilometres south of ...
in January 1973. Further stores were added in
Papatoetoe Papatoetoe is a suburb in Auckland, New Zealand. It is the largest suburb in Auckland by population and is located to the northwest of Manukau Central, and 18 kilometres southeast of Auckland CBD. Papatoetoe has the unofficial title of Auckland ...
,
Mount Eden Mount Eden is a suburb in Auckland, New Zealand whose name honours George Eden, 1st Earl of Auckland. It is south of the Central Business District (CBD). Mt Eden Road winds its way around the side of Mount Eden Domain and continues to weave b ...
, and Northcote later that year. Construction on a store in Glen Eden had begun by July 1973. Plans for a store in Green Bay were scrapped due to local opposition. Gubay instead opted to build a store in Avondale, which opened in September 1975.


International expansion

Gubay also established 3 Guys supermarkets in Ireland in the 1970s. He sold these stores to the H Williams supermarket chain in 1986, which subsequently collapsed in the same year.
Tesco Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Welwyn Garden City, England. In 2011 it was the third-largest retailer in the world measured by gross revenues and the ninth-largest in th ...
purchased many of the former 3 Guys stores, branded as either
Crazy Prices Tesco Ireland is the Irish subsidiary of supermarket group Tesco. Tesco Ireland was formed by Tesco plc's 1997 purchase of the Irish retailing operations of Associated British Foods, namely Powers' Supermarkets Limited and its subsidiaries, tr ...
or 3 Guys, to create
Tesco Ireland Tesco Ireland is the Irish subsidiary of supermarket group Tesco. Tesco Ireland was formed by Tesco plc's 1997 purchase of the Irish retailing operations of Associated British Foods, namely Powers' Supermarkets Limited and its subsidiaries, tra ...
. 3 Guys stores were also opened in the United States from 1980, but the chain went bankrupt in 1985. The stores were sold to other chains like
Food Lion Food Lion is an American regional grocery store chain headquartered in Salisbury, North Carolina, that operates over 1100 supermarkets in 10 states of the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States (Delaware, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, North ...
.


Post-Gubay era

Gubay put the New Zealand arm of 3 Guys up for sale in 1984. Progressive Enterprises bought the company in 1985. Fourteen houses were demolished to build a New Plymouth store in 1992. The
Onehunga Onehunga is a suburb of Auckland in New Zealand and the location of the Port of Onehunga, the city's small port on the Manukau Harbour. It is south of the city centre, close to the volcanic cone of Maungakiekie / One Tree Hill. Onehunga is a ...
store, which included a
New Zealand Post NZ Post ( mi, Tukurau Aotearoa), shortened from New Zealand Post, is a state-owned enterprise responsible for providing postal service in New Zealand. The New Zealand Post Office, a government agency, provided postal, banking, and telecommuni ...
shop, was redeveloped into Dress Smart in 1995. In early 1997, 3 Guys and
Foodtown Foodtown was a New Zealand supermarket chain owned by Progressive Enterprises. As with Woolworths, the Foodtown brand was phased out in the late 2000s, with all stores rebranded as Countdown by the end of 2011. Foodtown supermarkets were t ...
ran a campaign for the right to sell liquor at their
Grey Lynn Grey Lynn is an inner suburb of Auckland, New Zealand, located to the west of the city centre. Originally a separate borough, Grey Lynn amalgamated with Auckland City in 1914. Grey Lynn is centred on Grey Lynn Park, which was not part of the ...
stores. 3 Guys and Progressive Enterprises merged into a single company in 1997. The Avondale supermarket closed in June 1997, and its building was demolished.
Auckland City Council Auckland City Council was the local government authority for Auckland City, New Zealand, from 1871 to 1 November 2010, when it and Auckland's six other city and district councils were amalgamated to form the Auckland Council. It was an elected b ...
took ownership of the site, selling part of it for private development in 2001. In 2000, the Glen Eden supermarket was closed to make way for a new
Housing New Zealand Housing, or more generally, living spaces, refers to the construction and assigned usage of houses or buildings individually or collectively, for the purpose of shelter. Housing ensures that members of society have a place to live, whether ...
development. According to the Glen Eden Community Protection Society, it was established to protest the development and persuaded the developer to down-scale its plan. The supermarket carpark and part of the building was then sold to new owners in February 2001.


Closure and legacy

The chain had six stores at the start of 2003: its original
Māngere Māngere () or Mangere is one of the largest suburbs in Auckland, in northern New Zealand. It is located on mainly flat land on the northeastern shore of the Manukau Harbour, to the northwest of Manukau City Centre and 15 kilometres south of ...
store, three other Auckland stores in Orewa,
Point Chevalier Point Chevalier (; commonly known as Point Chev and an original colonial name of Point Bunbury after Thomas Bunbury) is a residential suburb and peninsula in the city of Auckland in the north of New Zealand. It is located five kilometres to ...
,
Flat Bush Flat Bush (also known as Ormiston or Flatbush) is a southeastern suburb in the city of Auckland, New Zealand. It has recently become one of the city's largest new planned towns after being developed as a rural area of Auckland for several deca ...
, and stores in
Huntly Huntly ( gd, Srath Bhalgaidh or ''Hunndaidh'') is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, formerly known as Milton of Strathbogie or simply Strathbogie. It had a population of 4,460 in 2004 and is the site of Huntly Castle. Its neighbouring settlement ...
and
Te Awamutu Te Awamutu is a town in the Waikato region in the North Island of New Zealand. It is the council seat of the Waipa District and serves as a service town for the farming communities which surround it. Te Awamutu is located some south of Hamilt ...
. The
Commerce Commission The Commerce Commission ( mi, Te Komihana Tauhokohoko) is a New Zealand government agency with responsibility for enforcing legislation that relates to competition in the country's markets, fair trading and consumer credit contracts, and regul ...
required 3 Guys Te Awamutu to be sold in January 2003. The remaining stores were rebranded as
Price Chopper Price Chopper may refer to: United States * Price Chopper (Northeastern United States), a supermarket chain based in Schenectady, New York, with stores in eastern United States ** Price Chopper Tour Championship, a golf tournament in the Albany, ...
. The
Pukekohe Pukekohe is a town in the Auckland Region of the North Island of New Zealand. Located at the southern edge of the Auckland Region, it is in South Auckland, between the southern shore of the Manukau Harbour and the mouth of the Waikato River. ...
supermarket site was redeveloped into a strip mall, which was sold as a single lot in 2007. The site of the former Avondale supermarket remained vacant in 2019. It became popular for street art in 2017, and a structure was built to host street art in 2021. A similarly named "Free Guys Supermarket" opened in Avondale during the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
to provide free groceries to low-income households.


References

{{Supermarkets in New Zealand Supermarkets of New Zealand Defunct retail companies of New Zealand Supermarkets of the Republic of Ireland Defunct supermarkets of the United States