Meet Max: 88 years young and still loving life on the job at PAK’nSAVE Napier

PAK’nSAVE Napier’s Max Richards

Four days a week, just after 9am, Max Richards pulls on his uniform and heads onto the shop floor at PAK’nSAVE Napier, where he works part-time as a grocery assistant.

There’s nothing unusual about that...except Max is 88 years old. He’s also the oldest employee across PAK’nSAVE and New World stores nationwide.

Max has been with the Napier store for 18 years. He helps customers find what they’re looking for, keeps shelves in order, and often stops for a chat with people who know him by name.

He started at the age of 70 - long after most people have retired - taking on the role of security guard, a job he held for 15 years.

“I was good at reading people,” he says. “You get a sense when something’s not quite right. Mostly though, it was about being respectful and helpful.”

He quickly became a familiar and trusted presence at the front of the store: calm, observant and always polite.

When new technologies were introduced, including facial recognition systems, Max decided it was time for a change.

“So I moved into grocery,” he says. “And I love it. I get to help customers and stay active. I plan to keep working for as long as I can.”

Now part of the grocery team, Max is known for walking customers directly to the product they’re looking for rather than pointing down an aisle, and for quietly helping younger team members learn the ropes. Colleagues describe him as chatty, humble, helpful, and incredibly fit.

Owner-operator Sonya Hasselman says Max’s impact goes well beyond the work he does.

“He’s genuinely one of a kind,” she says. “He’s committed, hardworking and adored by customers. He remembers everyone, brings energy to every shift, and he’s always the first to help. Our team is better because Max is part of it.”

PAK’nSAVE Napier owner operator Sonya Hasselman and Max Richards

Before joining PAK’nSAVE, Max had a working life spanning sales, marketing, business ownership and even bricklaying. In his younger years, he raced classic sports cars and still speaks fondly of his Triumph TR2 and Austin-Healey 100-S.

He credits staying mentally and physically active for his longevity.

“When you’re working, you’re thinking, you’re moving. It keeps your mind ticking,” he says. “I walk every day, I talk to people and I feel useful. That matters.”

Max turns 89 next month but shows no signs of slowing down, joking that he prefers being at work to taking time off.

“Everyone else is busy,” he says. “Why would I sit at home?”

Outside of work, he enjoys walking, spending time with family and heading to the pub on a Friday afternoon for a beer. Retirement, he says, holds little appeal.

Hasselman says Max shows that age is no barrier to connection or purpose.

“If you stay curious, stay moving and stay kind,” she says, “you never stop making a difference.”

For Max, the equation is simple.

“As long as I can do the job properly,” he says, “I’ll keep turning up.”