SuperValu celebrates 30 years of supporting Irish

15/09/2009

With a contribution to Irish jobs and suppliers in excess of €2.85 billion last year alone, SuperValu has been a driving force in the Irish economy for 30 years

Growing from a beginning of just 12 stores in 1979, to becoming the single biggest supermarket network in the country with 194 stores and employing in excess of 15,000 people, SuperValu and its retail partners pride themselves on their contribution and support of Irish suppliers, producers and brands.

As has been the case from the very beginning, 75 per cent of everything on SuperValu’s shelves is sourced or produced in Ireland and this is set to continue. These purchases made by Musgrave on behalf of its retail partners were worth in excess of €2.85 billion to the Irish economy last year alone and indirectly supported a further 14,000 Irish jobs. The cumulative effect of this level of support for the Irish economy across 30 years represents a multi-billion euro contribution. As part of Musgrave, SuperValu has buying power in excess of €4.9 billion and is at the forefront of delivering value to Irish consumers, as is evidenced by the brand’s market share, which is growing ahead of the competition.

Speaking today at the launch of the 30 year celebrations, Donal Horgan, Managing Director, SuperValu, said; "We partner with entrepreneurial business people who own and operate stores in their local communities. Along with our retail partners we have benefitted from 30 years of local connections with our shoppers and this puts us in an advantageous position to listen to and understand exactly what our customers want. The individual efforts of this wide-reaching network has helped grow an extraordinary supermarket network that has a genuine understanding of the needs of Irish consumers and communities."

The 12 stores, which have been part of the SuperValu network since the beginning include:

Riordans, Fermoy, Co. Cork	Twohigs, Kanturk, Co. Cork
Garveys, Dingle, Co. Kerry	Hurleys, Midleton, Co. Cork
O’Learys, Macroom, Co. Cork	Colcloughs, Roscrea, Co. Tipperary
O’Mahonys, Mallow, Co. Cork	Collins, Carrigaline, Co. Cork
Biggs, Bantry, Co. Cork	Downs, Ballincollig, Co. Cork
Caulfields, New Ross, Co. Wexford	Murphy’s, Castletownbere, Co. Cork.

Local Communities

SuperValu’s commitment to local and Irish is multi-faceted and programmes like Tidy Towns and Kids in Action allow the brand to participate at both national and local grassroots levels. In addition to the funding SuperValu provides as principle sponsor of Tidy Towns, it encourages local retailers to work with their local committee to help build their areas into vibrant communities. SuperValu is proud to have supported Tidy Towns for the past 19 years and were particularly delighted to have celebrated the competitions’ 50th anniversary in 2008.

Local Enterprise

SuperValu has also helped launch some of Ireland’s favourite brands. Dunhill Cuisine, for example, is a manufacturer of a large proportion of ready meals for the SuperValu brand. The company was nurtured and developed through the First Sale Programme in association with SuperValu and Enterprise Ireland. First Sale is an innovative training programme set up by Enterprise Ireland to help new food companies enter the retail market. The scheme is designed to teach participants how to correctly position their company and products to gain that first important listing with a retailer.

Since its launch, Dunhill Cuisine has developed from a fledgling company to a very successful modern food business that now employs 30 people. Kevin O’ Keeffe, co-owner of Dunhill said, "The working relationship is excellent; we wouldn’t be in existence if not for SuperValu."

Added Horgan, "We will continue for the next 30 years and beyond to do what we do best – offer a compelling shopping experience, which is rooted in value and quality and provided by retail partners who serve local communities, buy Irish and respond to the changing needs of consumers."