Ireland’s leading grocery retailer to add 350 jobs to store network and open five new stores in 2016
 
SuperValu today announced that it recorded retail sales of €2.6 billion in 2015, representing a new milestone for the brand and underlining its position as Ireland’s most popular grocery retailer with 25% market share. Building on this strong performance, SuperValu plans to invest €28 million in 2016, opening five new stores and adding 350 jobs to the SuperValu network.

SuperValu’s fresh food leadership strategy has been a core driver of its impressive performance. Ireland’s leading grocery retailer drove strong growth throughout 2015, particularly at Christmas as it outperformed the market with 4.3% growth over the last twelve weeks of the year.

Commenting at the SuperValu National Conference in Killarney today, Martin Kelleher, Managing Director of SuperValu, said: “We are pleased to announce that we have achieved a new sales milestone in what is a highly competitive marketplace. The fact that we are the largest grocery retailer in Ireland clearly illustrates that we have the best offer in the market, with consumers responding to our commitment to fresh food leadership and opting for locally-sourced, quality Irish food and in-store expertise.”

“As the number one supporter of the Irish food industry, we source from over 1,800 Irish suppliers – more than any other grocery retailer in the Irish market – equating to an economic contribution of €2.19 billion. From 100% fresh Irish meat, scratch bakeries in-store, locally-sourced fruit & veg, specialist fish counters and our Food Academy suppliers, we continue to give shoppers the best locally sourced food. As our stores are independently owned and operated, this means even more money goes back into the local economy.”

Underpinning SuperValu’s success in 2015 was the grocery retailer’s Good Food Karma campaign, which was designed to demonstrate the benefits of good wholesome food and the importance of making time for food occasions. The campaign resonated strongly with consumers, helping to drive fresh food sales and enabling SuperValu to grow its engagement with customers across all channels.

SuperValu has now helped 250 small Irish food producers to secure a retail listing through Food Academy, a joint initiative with Bord Bia and the Local Enterprise Office. In 2015 alone sales of Food Academy products reached €13 million, exceeding targets and highlighting the consumer demand for local produce. A number of food producers such as The Happy Pear, HIRO and Strong Roots, all of whom started by supplying one store, grew their relationship with SuperValu and now supply the entire network of 221 stores. SuperValu’s commitment to the programme helps to support 900 jobs across all of the participating companies.

SuperValu online shopping was a key sales driver for the retailer last year, growing by 32% for the last six months of the year and projected to grow over the next twelve months. The grocery retailer’s online shopping active customer base grew by 23.6%. The SuperValu Online Shopping App had 129% more downloads and visits to SuperValu on mobile phones increased by 37% in 2015.

SuperValu serves over 2.6 million customers every week and has 221 stores nationwide. Together with its retail partners, SuperValu employs approximately 14,500 colleagues, making it one of the State’s largest private sector employers. 75% of everything on SuperValu’s shelves is sourced or produced in Ireland. SuperValu continues to source locally wherever possible which helps to sustain 30,000 jobs in the Irish economy.

Centra to add 480 jobs to store network and open 16 new stores in 2016

Centra has recorded sales of €1.54 billion in 2015, underlining the brand’s position as market leader in the Irish convenience sector. With robust expansion plans, Ireland’s number one convenience retailer will open 16 new stores this year, resulting in 480 jobs being added to the Centra network, as part of a €16 million investment.

Centra’s new health strategy played a major role in the convenience brand’s performance with the launch of Live Well in July, which helps people make healthier choices on-the-go with a real focus on overall nutrition and a balanced diet. Centra has already seen additional sales of €6 million in Live Well products such as salad boxes, fruit pots and avocados, showing consumers growing appetite to seek out healthy alternatives.

One of the brand’s key achievements was the reduction of the calorie intake of customers by 60 million calories. This was through allocating more space in the soft drink section of stores for healthier alternatives and reducing shelf space given to fizzy drinks. As a result, Centra sold 1.5 million more bottles of healthy drinks such as water, coconut water and aloe juice last year.

Martin Kelleher, Managing Director of Centra, said: “2015 marked another successful year for Centra as leaders in the convenience market, with sales reaching €1.54 billion. We are delighted to announce that our sales figures show a 1.6% growth on the previous year. This is testament to our 460 local retailers nationwide whose hard work ensures that Centra continues to lead the market in terms of value, choice and quality.”

“Through our Live Well initiative, we have recognised the changing needs of our time strapped customers who are looking for healthy and nutritious food on the go. We have introduced new ranges in store which consumers have responded well to, as well as highlighting nutritional benefits of our products to inspire customers to make healthier choices.”

“We are delighted with the response that we have had so far, with massive spikes in demand for nutritious products. For example we have sold almost 200,000 salad boxes, 1.4 tonnes of quinoa and an additional half a million pieces of fruit. We’ve extended our range to include products that you wouldn’t expect to get in a convenience store, such as chia seeds, nut butters and sweet potatoes. Live Well is a determined and sustained initiative; we will build on its success to date and it will continue to be a focus for our brand in the year ahead,” concluded Kelleher.

With over 460 stores, Centra employs almost 11,000 people and serves over three million customers per week. Centra invests over €240 million in local communities per annum, which is the equivalent of €4.5 million per week through a combination of payments to local suppliers, acquisition of local business services, wages, charitable donations and local sponsorships.