Musgrave Extends Footprint in the Growing Dublin Food Market
21 September 2018 – Musgrave today announced that it has agreed to acquire Donnybrook Fair for an undisclosed sum, subject to approval by the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission.
The acquisition includes Donnybrook Fair’s five premium food stores (Donnybrook, Stillorgan, Malahide, Greystones and Baggot Street) situated in Dublin as well as a gourmet food production facility.
Donnybrook Fair is a family business that is owned by Joe and Mary Doyle and employs 250 people. The Donnybrook Fair brand is greatly admired by food lovers and it will be retained and invested in post-acquisition with Joe Doyle remaining in the business.
The acquisition supports Musgrave’s strategy of building brands that provide peoplewith unique food experiences at home and out of home. Donnybrook Fair has successfully focused on meeting these needs through its destination stores and their ability to create gourmet home-cooked food. Donnybrook Fair will strengthen Musgrave’s presence in the growing Dublin food market and will complement Musgrave’s existing brands.
Commenting on the agreement, Chris Martin, Musgrave CEO, said: “Donnybrook Fair represents a fantastic addition to Musgrave. With its focus on creating a destination retail experience as well as a premium food offering, it aligns with our Growing Good Business strategy. We are focused on developing opportunities around every food occasion in a growing market. This included the purchase of La Rousse Foods earlier this year, broadening our offer into the premium foodservice sector. Donnybrook Fair increases our penetration of the Dublin food market and our intention is to maintain and grow the brand for the long term. We are looking forward to taking it to the next stage of development.”
Joe Doyle, owner of Donnybrook Fair, added: “We established Donnybrook Fair as a brand devoted to bringing great food experiences to people. Musgrave is as passionate as we are about the heritage and future of Irish food. I was attracted by Musgrave’s values and its approach to investing in its brands and team for the long-term. We share Musgrave’s vision to give people access to high-quality and innovative food experiences at home, on the go, or in-store. I look forward to working in partnership with the Musgrave team to grow the Donnybrook Fair brand.”
About Donnybrook Fair
Joe Doyle has been a retailer his whole life, opening his first butcher shop when he was 17. From an early age he set himself apart from the competition by offering his customers the best quality produce available in an environment that emphasised customer service and the shopping experience.
In 1991 he purchased the grocery store Donnybrook Fair on Morehampton Road in Donnybrook. The combination of high quality homemade food, great customer service, and a unique shopping experience proved a hit with customers. Joe further opened a store in Baggot St in 2004, followed by stores in Greystones, Stillorgan and Malahide.
The business also operates a wholesale food business, Morehampton Foods, complete with a gourmet production kitchen. Donnybrook Fair also operates a cookery school, and a catering business. The company employs 250 people in total.
About Musgrave
Musgrave is one of Ireland’s longest-running family businesses, founded in 1876 in Cork by brothers Thomas and Stuart Musgrave. Today Musgrave and its retail partners support more than 40,000 jobs, in more than 1,400 stores and offices across 10 food brands in three markets, with total retail sales of €3.7 billion.
Through its retail brands, Musgrave delivers sourcing, sales, marketing and supply chain expertise, so local entrepreneurs can go head-to-head with the international supermarket chains. Musgrave operates the following brands in three markets:
- Republic of Ireland – SuperValu, Centra, Daybreak, MarketPlace, Frank and Honest, Chipmongers and La Rousse Foods
- Northern Ireland – SuperValu, Centra, Mace, DayToday and MarketPlace
- Spain – Dialprix and Dialsur
At Musgrave, Growing Good Business is at our core and we have an ongoing commitment to building sustainable communities across the island of Ireland as part of our sustainability strategy Taking Care of Our World www.musgravegroup.com
