www.retailnews.ie|May 2012|Retail News|11
Industry News Musgrave Signs €3m Uniform Contract MUSGRAVE Retail Partners Ireland has signed a €3m contract with Cork-based companies Trag Limited and Coppinger Limited to provide staff uniforms for the 30,000 employees across the SuperValu and Centra network over the next three years. Commenting on the new contract, Martin Kelleher, Managing Director, Musgrave Retail Partners Ireland, said, “At Musgrave, we have a strong commitment to Irish companies and are delighted to sign this agreement with Trag and Coppingers. It’s vital that we invest in the Irish economy by buying from local suppliers. Together with our retail partners, we are responsible for over €1.5 billion worth of purchases of Irish goods and services per annum, helping to both create and protect almost 40,000 jobs across the country. ” Pictured are Adrian O’Donovan, Trag Ltd, Noreen Dukelow, Coppinger Ltd, and Katherine Keane, Trading Manager, Musgrave, with Sarah Horgan and Joanne Hennessy modelling the new SuperValu and Centra uniforms.
NATIONAL LOTTERY RESULTS 2011 marked the 25th successful year of Ireland’s National Lottery with a further €231.9m raised for distribution by the Government to good causes. This brought the cumulative amount of money raised for good causes since 1987 to €3.9 billion, while €6.3 billion has been returned to Irish players in prizes. National Lottery sales in 2011 were €761.4m, a decrease of 1.4% compared to the previous year. This was achieved in a very challenging retail environment where the average decline in comparable spend was 5%. Lotto related draw games represented half of the National Lottery’s overall turnover, with sales of €379.1m in 2011, while EuroMillions and the Scratch Card portfolio increased significantly. During the year, 34.3 million winners of National Lottery games shared a total prize fund of €422.5m, up from €419.9m in 2010. “We look forward to building on the success of the last 25 years of Ireland’s National Lottery with a strong focus on our vision of providing exciting and engaging lottery games that bring fun and entertainment to our players,” said Dermot Griffin, National Lottery CEO. See www.lottery.ie for more information.
BEWLEY’S THANKED FOR BEAN FAIR
ASA DISMISSES CHALLENGE TO VELVET THE Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has thrown out all four complaints made by a competitor about Velvet tissue’s ‘Three Trees’ advertising commitment. The TV commercial and website copy refer to Velvet’s ‘three for one’ promise of planting three trees for each one used. Standard industry practice is to replace trees on a three-for-one basis for softwood, but only on a onefor-one basis for hardwood. However, Velvet plant on a three-for-one basis for both hardwood and softwood and the ASA rejected all four challenges and noted that evidence provided by SCA Hygiene Products UK Ltd – the makers of Velvet - not only fully supported statements made in the Velvet TV campaign and on the website www.velvettissue.com, but that Velvet had, in fact, surpassed its commitment to planting three trees for each one harvested in the production of Velvet.
Deloitte Host Food and Beverage Seminar
PATRICK Bewley from Bewley’s is pictured with Samuel Santos Lopez, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Nicaragua, and Paul O’Toole, Master Roaster of Bewley’s. On his first visit to Ireland, the Nicaraguan Minister for Foreign Affairs visited Bewley’s to thank the company for their trading connections with Nicaragua, where the company sources hundreds of tonnes of coffee annually under Fairtrade and ethical contracts. He also met the President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins and the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Eamonn Gilmore.
PICTURED at the recent Deloitte Food and Beverage Seminar 2012 in the Four Seasons Hotel are (l-r): Aidan Cotter, CEO, Bord Bia; David Hearn, Head of Consulting, Deloitte; and Ado Carton, Managing Director, Kerry Foods. The theme of the event was Driving Strategies for Growth. Figures released from Deloitte show that half of food and beverage companies in Ireland have observed improvements in the export market in the last 12 months and nine out of 10 companies are currently investing in their businesses.