SuperValu has thanked its customers following the announcement by Kantar Worldpanel today that SuperValu has the largest market share of any grocery retailer in Ireland. SuperValu now holds 24.9% market share and feeds one in four people in Ireland every week.

Earlier this year, SuperValu announced that it reached its highest ever sales total in 2014 after recording sales of €2.58 billion. This follows the growth of the brand by 30% over a ten year period, highlighting the momentum behind Ireland’s leading grocery retailer.

Commenting on the milestone, Martin Kelleher, SuperValu managing director, said: “It is nice to be recognised as the largest grocery retailer in the market, a feat which is even more important when you bear in mind that SuperValu is a brand that is essentially made up of independent retailers from across the country. So this success belongs to our retail partners and the communities that support them every day.”

“We have achieved this by focusing on three key areas – providing the best quality Irish food to our customers; offering unrivalled expertise through our people like our butchers and bakers; and supporting communities across the country through a variety of charitable causes, initiatives like TidyTowns, as well as putting money back into the local economy due to our independent retail model.”

“This milestone is testament to the fantastic work of our retail partners across the country. Local ownership is one of our unique selling points: the fact that our stores are operated by people from the local community, the store owner knows his or her customers and what they want. For example, as stores owners can source directly from local suppliers, you will find products on our shelves that you simply cannot buy in any of the other grocery retailers.”

“Clearly the Irish grocery market is highly competitive and will continue to be neck and neck in the future. We aim to repay our customers’ loyalty by continuing to invest in our brand and further improving our offer. In this respect, we will open four new stores in the year ahead and continue to invest in refurbishing our store network, adding 280 employees to the SuperValu family in the process. Similarly we will help more local suppliers gain their first retail listing through the Food Academy programme and support a range of initiatives such as the TidyTowns Competition and the GAA All-Ireland Football Championship.”

SuperValu has received a number of accolades in recent years. The brand was recognised as the best supporter of Irish producers according to an independent study by Checkout and Ignite Research in 2014. Of the 3,000 respondents surveyed for the ‘Where We Shop 2014’ report, one third of shoppers named SuperValu as the best promoter of Irish products, ahead of any other grocery retailer in Ireland. SuperValu was also named as the most reputable Irish brand last year, according to the results of the annual Ireland RepTrak study.

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 and purchases almost €2 billion worth of goods from Irish suppliers which help to sustain 30,000 jobs in the Irish economy.

With the arrival of Spring, the best of Irish produce is now in season. SuperValu expects to sell €18 million worth of fresh Irish lamb in 2015 and €300,000 worth of Irish seasonal rhubarb, both of which are now available in SuperValu’s stores nationwide, just in time for Easter.

SuperValu’s lamb is 100% Irish, born, bred and reared in Ireland; the first of this new season Irish lamb is available in selected SuperValu butcher counters nationwide. SuperValu, the leading Irish grocery retailer, continues to command the grocery market in terms of meat quality, with more instore expert butchers than any other retailer.

SuperValu’s fresh Irish rhubarb, grown by Cork producer Roland Newenham, can be found in your local SuperValu now, retailing at €1.69 per unit. The Cork producer has supplied SuperValu stores nationwide with Irish rhubarb for over 30 years, supporting over 30 jobs locally. As one of the lowest calorie vegetables and containing vital nutrients such as dietary fibre, anti-oxidants, minerals and vitamins, rhubarb is the perfect seasonal ingredient for home baking.

Eamon Howell, Trading Director, SuperValu, said; “SuperValu is the number one supporter of the Irish food industry and we continue to lead the way in terms of quality Irish produce. We are committed to sourcing locally wherever possible, with the best of seasonal Irish produce currently available instore – just in time for Easter. Our policy of exclusively sourcing quality assured meat products means our customers can be confident they are buying the best Irish meat, while supporting local farmers. Customers can avail of the expertise of our instore expert butchers, ensuring they are guaranteed the best cut of meat whatever the occasion.”

SuperValu serves over 2.6 million customers every week. 75% of everything on SuperValu’s shelves is sourced or produced in Ireland. SuperValu purchases almost €2 billion worth of goods from Irish suppliers which help to sustain 30,000 jobs in the Irish economy.

Warner’s Budgens of Moreton-in-Marsh Store Manager Jerry Tweney and Lucy Worrall Marketing Manager, were on hand to accept the much-coveted award for ‘Best Large Store’ at the Convenience Store Awards last week. The event, which took place on Thursday 19^th March at Bishopsgate in central London, was hosted by Convenience Store, Editor, David Rees and attended by the great and the good of the British convenience industry.

Retailers fought it out across 18 categories for the chance to win prestigious awards and industry recognition. Budgens hosted a table at the event for all shortlisted retailers, with Peter Ridler and Mike Baker invited to sit on the Editor’s table, all were delighted with Warner’s Budgens win.

Lucy Worrall, Marketing Manager for Warner’s Budgens said: “We were thrilled to receive the award for ‘Best Large Retailer’ for our Moreton-in Marsh store, Jerry and his team work really hard to provide an excellent shopping experience for all our customers and it’s really nice for them to be recognised in this way.”

Budgens, the independent grocery brand, has opened its flagship store in London. The store in Crouch End was opened by regular customer Keith Dunkley who has been shopping there for 20 years.

The store closed for three weeks to undergo extensive improvements to the inside and outside, with significant investment in improving the selection for customers, with a strong commitment to local and smaller artisan suppliers.

The 8,600 sq ft store boasts a bigger selection of fresh products including new Budgens own branded lines, an extensive bakery selection from local bakers Dunn’s and a continued focus on authentic, affordable, artisan and locally produced foods. The store also boasts several brand new features including a hot porridge bar, a hot soup bar, salad bar, grind-your-own coffee beans offering seven different varieties and an in-store patisserie section.

Budgens Director, Mike Baker said: “It’s great to see this store now open, Budgens of Crouch End is our flagship store and it’s a key milestone for us. It builds on everything we have learned from our lab stores in Bournemouth and Byfleet and comes with lots of new features. There’s a continued focus on fresh but food-to-go and our counters really come to the fore here. The opening has been met with much excitement this morning and we’re delighted with the makeover.”

Store Manager Tony Stone opened the store with Keith and praised the work of his staff in getting the store ready. Tony said: “We’ve completely redesigned the store inside and staff have worked hard to get everything ready for the opening. It’s a brighter store with more space for browsing and a much bigger focus on fresh. As soon as you walk in you see a large fresh area and the key shopping missions of lunch, meal for tonight and top up. Customers seem to like the new hot food and salad bar and the response has been really positive.”

The opening was backed by a marketing campaign to local residents. Budgens door dropped 2,000 Lindt chocolate bunnies to local postcodes, with a £5 voucher to redeem on shops over £20. Customers were also treated to free samples in the opening few days, including hot soups from Yorkshire Provender, handcrafted chocolates from local chocolatier Diana David, delicious hot pies from The Real Pie Company, fresh coffee from the new Budgens grind-your-own range, a selection of fine wines from Enotria, gin tasting from Sipsmith Gins and craft beers from the East London Brewing Company.

This is the third concept store to open under the repositioned Budgens brand, but the first in London. It builds on the success of the lab store opened in Broadstone, Bournemouth in October 2014. Budgens hopes to rejuvenate the British high street by delivering posh nosh for the masses and changing the image of convenience retailing.

Store Features

Speciality Butchers

The in-store butchers will offer a full meat selection alongside specialist ranges from the Wild Meat Company such as venison, boar, partridge, pigeon and rabbit.

Deli Counter

A new and improved in-store deli will offer a comprehensive range of regional and international cheeses including Cornish Yarg, Ribblesdale Sheeps Cheese, Comte Forte Saint Antoine, Serrano ham sliced thinly to order and 9 types of olives and anti-pasti from London supplier Belazu, you can serve yourself.

Soup Bar

A soup bar for fast but wholesome lunches will offer hearty soups from Yorkshire Provender, there will be two flavours on offer each day from 11am to 3pm each day including Tomato & Wensleydale, Moroccan Chicken, Root Vegetables & Pearl Barley and Minted Pea & Ham.

Bakery & Patisserie

A fresh bakery section will offer a wide selection of speciality breads and pastries including Sourdough, Spelt & Honey bread, Bavarian Rye, Redemption Ale loaf from local Dunn’s bakery. There will also be a new Patisserie offering cakes and tartlets, six types of fresh cream éclair, including exotic mango or nutty pistachio, a luxury macaroon assortment and Brittany butter croissants, pain au raisin and pain au chocolate.

London Ales & Spirits

The new wine cellar area will offer a selection of local beers from East London Brewing Company, Meantime, Redemption and Sambrook as well as a wide range of craft ales from breweries around the country. There will be more focus on traditional ciders with a selection from across the UK including Dunkerton’s, Henney’s and Sheppy’s and also craft spirits from London including Portobello Road Gin, Sipsmith Gin & Sipsmith Vodka. English wines will also be a focus with seven new wines on offer from Denbies in Surrey, Sedlescombe and Ridgeview from Sussex and Shawsgate from Suffolk alongside a selection of 16 organic wines from around the world.

www.budgens.co.uk

The SuperValu TidyTowns competition for 2015 was officially launched today by Ann Phelan, T.D., Minister of State for Rural Affairs and Mr. Martin Kelleher, Managing Director of SuperValu, sponsors of the competition.

On launching the competition Minister Phelan said “The SuperValu TidyTowns Competition encourages the efforts of local people who bring huge benefits to their communities. It recognises all the work of the TidyTowns volunteers, from the planning stage to the completion of projects. It gives communities a vehicle to come together to effect change where they live. Each year for the last four years this competition has attracted over 800 entries from cities, towns and villages throughout the country and I hope that this impetus will be sustained this year.”

Minister Phelan mentioned the significance of the work of TidyTowns volunteers in preserving Ireland’s reputation as a clean and green destination to live in, do business in and visit. “The work of the generations of volunteers on TidyTowns committees cannot be overestimated, their efforts have been improving the environment in which we live for 57 years and has helped to transform the appearance of our towns and villages and to promote Ireland’s image abroad. The sense of place that develops when communities work together and take ownership of their own surroundings is evident where TidyTowns committees are active. Their communities offer a unique experience to visitors, from both at home and abroad. The Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government has worked in partnership with Volunteer Ireland to grow voluntary effort; their website www.volunteer.ie matches members of the public interested in volunteering with voluntary opportunities in their own areas. TidyTowns committees should take advantage of this initiative to seek out new volunteers or voluntary expertise”

Speaking at the launch today, Martin Kelleher, SuperValu Managing Director said “2015 marks the 24th year of SuperValu’s sponsorship of TidyTowns. This is one of the longest running sponsorships in Ireland and one that we are extremely proud to be supporting.

We believe in local and TidyTowns is a perfect partnership for SuperValu. With 222 stores nationwide, our retailers are uniquely positioned to work with TidyTowns committees to build sustainable communities that we will be proud to pass on to future generations. Not only do we support TidyTowns nationally, but retailers contribute a further €100,000 to committees locally.

Year on year, there is tremendous work carried out by TidyTowns committees in every town and village in Ireland and this year we are hoping to further acknowledge this work with the inclusion of a youth category award, which will recognise some of the fine work undertaken by younger committee members. We live in challenging times, economically and socially, but the SuperValu TidyTowns competition demonstrates the power of local and the value it brings to our communities and our country.”

The Minister expressed her appreciation to SuperValu for their continued support in sponsoring the competition. “SuperValu have supported this competition for nearly a quarter of a century, they have helped it grow through their sponsorship and through their nationwide network of retailers. Thank you Martin and all your team for your support for this competition.”

As well as the main competition there are also ten Special Competitions that can be entered. Welcoming these competitions Minister Phelan said “these competitions add to the SuperValu TidyTowns competition and I would like to encourage entrants to consider entering some of them as well as the main competition. I also thank the sponsors of these competitions for their support over the years.”

The closing date for receipt of entries for this year’s competitions is 22^nd May 2015. Entry forms to the SuperValu TidyTowns competition can be obtained from the TidyTowns Unit in the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government – Phone (096-24309) or by visiting www.tidytowns.ie or www.supervalu.ie. For entry to the Special Competitions please download your entry form at www.tidytowns.ie

Musgrave helping to tackle youth unemployment by offering career development sessions to 350 young jobseekers

An Tánaiste Joan Burton today visited Musgrave’s depot in Fonthill, Dublin as part of Feeding Ireland’s Future ‘Skills for Work Week’. Musgrave Group is helping to tackle youth unemployment by running career development sessions for 350 young jobseekers as part of a collaborative project between Government and industry.

Feeding Ireland’s Future is an initiative in conjunction with the Department of Social Protection Intreo service, ECR Ireland and food and grocery sector industry partners, which will see over 1,200 unemployed young people participate in events from 2nd to 6th March, with almost 30% of participants attending a Musgrave workshop at 21 Musgrave sites nationwide.

Over the course of the week, Musgrave’s HR team will discuss a range of topics with participants including how to manage their social media reputation; preparing their CVs; how to draft cover letters and applications; and interview role plays. Participants are also taken on site tours to give them an overview of what a career in the food and grocery industry entails. A number of key SuperValu retailers will also be participating and through this demonstrating their commitment to their local communities.

Commenting on the initiative, Adrian Grey, Musgrave Group HR Director, said: “As the largest private sector employer in Ireland, we want to give young unemployed people an insight into the range of careers available in the Irish food industry, with a particular focus on our retail and wholesale businesses. This is a fantastic initiative for participants to help them develop vital skills in terms of interview and CV preparation. It also lets them experience first-hand what a day in the life of someone working in the food industry is like. We hope to inspire young people taking part in the initiative to pursue a career in the food sector, helping to boost one of the most important industries for the Irish economy.”

More information about Feeding Ireland’s Future is available at http://www.ecrireland.ie/

SuperValu, the leading Irish grocery retailer, has announced that it recorded retail sales of €2.58 billion in 2014. This represents a new milestone for the brand, following the addition of 24 former Superquinn stores to the business in February 2014. As a result, SuperValu now holds 24.9% market share and serves over 2.6 million customers every week.

SuperValu plans to invest €18 million in opening four new stores in 2015, which will add 280 jobs to the SuperValu network. Some of the locations will include Athlone and Kilcock. Together with its retail partners, SuperValu employs approximately 14,500 colleagues, making it one of the State’s largest private sector employers.

Commenting at the SuperValu national conference in Killarney today, Martin Kelleher, Managing Director of SuperValu, said: “We are satisfied with our current trading performance, having finished the year well with a good Christmas trading period. We believe that SuperValu can continue to go from strength to strength in 2015. We will continue to drive the momentum behind SuperValu into 2015 through our food leadership programme, commitment to local suppliers through initiatives like Food Academy, and exceptional value through quality own brand products and promotions.”

“Quality is where SuperValu really stands out. We have butcher counters in store and our fresh meat is 100% Irish, so we lead the market in terms of quality food that consumers can trust. The fact that the majority of our stores are independently owned means that our retail partners can source local products that you simply won’t find on shelves anywhere else. We have really leveraged this over the past year through the Food Academy programme, helping over two hundred small Irish suppliers gain their first listing with a grocery retailer.”

One of the major achievements by SuperValu in 2014 was the establishment of the Food Academy programme, which is a joint initiative between SuperValu, Bord Bia, the Local Enterprise Office Network to support small food companies in Ireland.

By virtue of its community retailer model, whereby stores are independently owned by local entrepreneurs, SuperValu is able to give Food Academy participating companies the unique opportunity of starting their journey on a small scale. Participants are mentored by SuperValu and are able to secure listings with individual stores, helping them grow to a point where they are on a commercial footing to supply a network of stores.

200 small food producers supported by the Food Academy will generate sales worth €10 million with SuperValu in 2015. 30 high performing small food companies have also graduated to Food Academy Advance, the next stage of the programme, to allow them to scale up and secure national listings with SuperValu.

This support for Irish suppliers was one of the reasons why SuperValu was recognised as the best supporter of Irish producers, according to an independent study by Checkout and Ignite Research in 2014. Of the 3,000 respondents surveyed for the ‘Where We Shop 2014’ report, one third of shoppers named SuperValu as the best promoter of Irish products, ahead of any other grocery retailer in Ireland.

75% of everything on SuperValu’s shelves is sourced or produced in Ireland. SuperValu continues to source locally wherever possible and purchases almost €2 billion worth of goods from Irish suppliers which help to sustain 30,000 jobs in the Irish economy.

 

_{Photograph by Domnick Walsh Photography}

Budgens, the independent retail brand, are set to open three new forecourt stores before the end of the first quarter. The first is in Stadhampton in Oxfordshire which opened on 12th February, the second will be in Kingsclere in Hampshire and is due late February and the third will be in Wellington in Somerset and is expected mid-March.

These new forecourts will stock an extensive range of products from essentials and food-on-the-go options to a more complete offering which reflects the brand’s key shopper missions – a strong lunch offering, top-up shop and meal for tonight. They will also include a good fresh range alongside affordable artisan products from local suppliers and trusted brands.

Mike Baker, Budgens Director says “Our forecourt business is performing really well and we’ve got the balance between convenience and interesting just right. It’s fantastic to see these new stores opening and to be welcoming new retail partners such as Mohammed Farooq, I’m sure he’ll make Stadhamptomn a great success.”

Budgens of Stadhampton

Summit Service Station, Stadhampton, Oxfordshire OX44 7TP

This new forecourt is in a village location 8miles south of Oxford and has a neighbourhood store feel. The site has undergone a full rebuild and refit project creating a new 2,335 sq ft shop which is owned by our new retail partner Mohammed Farooq.

Budgens of Kingsclere

Kingsclere Service Station, Newbury Road, Kingsclere, Hampshire RG20 4TA      

The site is a redevelopment of a closed down forecourt and is owned by John Mason of Peregrine Retail Ltd. The forecourt is located on the outskirts of Kingsclere which is 7 miles south of Newbury and is currently undergoing a full regeneration which will result in a new 2,500 sq ft shop being created.

Budgens of Wellington

Westpark 26, Wellington Somerset TA21 9AD

This will be the second new forecourt for our retail partner John Mason; it is being built on a new site and will encompass a 2,660 sq ft store plus a Subway concession on an edge of town development in Wellington. John Mason also operates the Budgens stores at Blackhorse, Blashford and Bridgwater.

Centra, Ireland’s number one convenience brand, has announced that it recorded retail sales of over €1.5 billion in 2014, a 3% increase on the previous year’s performance. Centra also revealed that it will add 380 jobs to the network this year, as 16 new stores are set to open in 2015. Last year, Centra retailers invested €7m in store openings and refurbishment, adding 25,000 sq. ft. to the Centra network.

Centra’s growth was underpinned by increased Own Brand sales, the introduction of its all day fresh food range, innovative products and services and delivering great value across all categories.

Sales of the Centra Own Brand range rose by 14%, reflecting the trend of consumers switching to Own Brand products in recent years.

Fresh food sales also drove growth, with the launch of Centra’s new range of gourmet sandwiches and pizzas experiencing significant sales increases. Gourmet sandwiches sales rose 8%, while pizza sales increased by 17% during the year. This was boosted by innovative promotions such as Centra’s 1 cent tea and coffee promotion on budget day, with coffee sales rising 14% in 2014.

Speaking today at the brand’s National Retailer Conference in Killarney to over 463 retailers in attendance, Martin Kelleher, Managing Director of Centra, said: “2014 was a very successful year for Centra in which we continued to lead the convenience market and achieved milestone sales of €1.5 billion. This is a tremendous achievement for the brand and our retailers, clearly demonstrating that consumers recognise that Centra offers the best value, choice and quality in the market. It also places the Centra brand within the top twenty Irish brands by turnover, which is a huge accomplishment when you consider that this has been achieved by the combined efforts of 463 local businesses across the country.”

“We plan to drive this momentum into 2015 by continuing to differentiate Centra from the competition by introducing new healthier ranges which will make it easier for shoppers to pick up healthy options at any time of the day, investing further in our Own Brand and fresh food ranges, whilst also focusing on rolling out new smart eCommerce technology services to give consumers the best retail experience in the market.”

With 463 stores, Centra employs almost 11,000 people and serves over three million customers per week. Centra purchases from Irish producers, selling over €1.1 billion of Irish goods, with 75% of all products sold in store produced or sourced in Ireland, with an additional €60 million worth of product being sourced by stores locally from over 1,400 small local suppliers.

Centra also 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.