There has been widespread speculation in Dunedin's service sector that the supermarket was for sale.
''Yes, we are going through a change of ownership process for New World Centre City,'' Foodstuffs NZ head of external relations Antoinette Laird said yesterday.
Other than give assurances about customer service, she said ''we have nothing further to add''.
New World Centre City owner Craig Nieper said he could not comment as it was a ''confidential process''.
Mr Nieper's father, Russell, started New World Centre City in December 1986, and later went on to become chairman of grocery co-operative Foodstuffs (SI) Ltd. He retired in 2008.
Sources close to the sale understood a buyer from Southland was in the wings, but this could not be confirmed.
Foodstuffs (NZ) Ltd is jointly and equally owned by co-operatives Foodstuffs North Island Ltd and Foodstuffs South Island Ltd, representing more than 50% of the country's grocery market, operating retail franchises for Pak'N Save, New World and Four Square.
