30|Retail News|December 2014|www.retailnews.ie
Retail Group Review
BWG’s Big Year
BWG Foods had a brilliant 2014, including a brand new ownership structure. BWG Foods is a leading wholesale and retail company. It operates the SPAR, EUROSPAR, MACE, XL and Xpress Stop brands in the Republic of Ireland, with over 900 stores across the country. The wholesale division of BWG Foods also includes BWG Foodservice and a nationwide network of 22 Value Centre cash and carry branches. As owners and operators of these leading retail brands, BWG Foods provides retailers with many benefits from a marketing, training and operational point of view, as well as access to years of retail experience. Importantly, support is tailored to meet the ethos of each brand and the needs of the individual retailer. BWG Foods provides dedicated multi-dimensional marketing and advertising campaigns for each individual brand, spanning national, local and social media, and supported by public relations. Regular promotional activity is run across each brand to drive consumer spend and footfall, supported by strong in-store displays and point of sale material. BWG Foods provides bespoke staff training programmes for retailers, covering a range of topics, including Food Safety, Fresh Food Advice, Category Management and Store Standards. BWG Foods operates an award winning National Distribution Centre
(NDC) located in Kilcarbery Business Park, Dublin 22. This 240,000 square feet state-of-the-art facility opened in 2012 and caters for BWG Foods’ entire ambient and alcohol distribution. BWG Foods has relationships with more than 500 suppliers, dealing directly with approximately 14,000 customers in the retail, foodservice and licensed sectors. Through its branded retail estate, BWG Foods and its retailers provide employment to over
20,000 people and serve in excess of one million customers every single day. In 2014, BWG Group announced SPAR South Africa’s investment in the business, which continues to be led by Group CEO, Leo Crawford and the existing management team. SPAR SPAR is one of the country’s largest convenience retail groups, bringing consumers the most innovative in-
SPAR retailers have unique access to some of the best practice in retail from around the world.