THE staff of IGA Westpoint are settling in at their new-look shop after opening the supermarket extension last week.
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After a significant construction period, IGA was able to open its bigger premises to the public on December 19.
It was an exciting time for the staff and customers, who managing director Hamish Thompson said are all enjoying the new facilities.
The store has a more modern look to it, more stock than before and, for staff, there are more amenities available behind the scenes.
"[The staff] love the new facilities, but it is a learning process we've got to go through to learn it all," Mr Thompson said, adding that customer feedback had also been positive.
While the supermarket is already offering more products to customers, the expansion is not over yet.
- VIDEO: Take a look inside the new-look Westpoint IGA
The former premises will be renovated to match the new section of the store and, once finished, a temporary wall will be removed to complete the supermarket.
Mr Thompson said the builders were due back on site in early January to continue the project.
At this stage, it is anticipated to be complete sometime in March.
Prior to that, however, some new services will be added.
One of the new services will be NSW Lotteries, giving visitors to Westpoint a place to buy and check their tickets.
"When the newsagent closed down we decided to offer that because we want customers to have that facility here," Mr Thompson said.
In addition to lottery services, Westpoint IGA will become a partner of Australia Post.
"We're going to get the licences for that as well. We have approval, we just need to do some training," Mr Thompson said.
"It's mostly that we can sell stamps and sell those post envelopes, and [customers] can drop parcels to us here in a box."
These services are expected to be available by the end of February.
The expansion of IGA is part of a $10-million redevelopment of the Westpoint shopping centre, which started in November 2017.
Under the project, new retail spaces have been built on the lower level of the complex, a childcare centre has been built upstairs, there is a new building that will allow for a drive-through coffee shop or similar buisness, and car parking facilities have increased significantly.
Completion of IGA will be one of the last steps in the project.
Work is also going on behind the scenes to find tenants to move into the shopping centre, with two local real estates handling leasing.
