6|Retail News|November 2013|www.retailnews.ie
News VALUE CENTRE CASTLEBAR OPENS AFTER €2M REFURBISHMENT BWG Foods has revealed plans to invest €7m in its national Value Centre cash & carry network over two years, upgrading and refurbishing sites around the country. The announcement was made at the reopening of Value Centre Castlebar, which closed following extensive fire damage last year. Guest of honour An Taoiseach welcomed the investment by BWG Foods in Castlebar and its plans for elsewhere around the country. Following a €2m refurbishment, Value Centre Castlebar has now resumed full service to businesses across the West of Ireland and all 14 employees have also returned to the site following temporary relocation while the works were being carried out. “I am delighted to welcome the investment by BWG Foods in its Value Centre cash & carry sites around the country”, noted the Taoiseach at the official opening. “It is especially welcome that the Castlebar Value Centre is reopening, having been refurbished after it sustained fire damage last year and its 14 employees are returning to work at the site. It is a great vote of confidence by the company in its locations across the country that it is embarking on such a significant investment programme.” The Castlebar refurbishment is part of an on-going €7m Value Centre investment programme. In addition to investment in its Castlebar Value Centre, BWG is also undertaking significant works at Letterkenny and Sligo, and will upgrade the Dundalk site in 2014 as part of the programme. Leo Crawford, Group Chief Ex-
Pictured at the official opening of Value Centre Castlebar are (l-r): John Moane, Managing Director Wholesale, BWG; Leo Crawrod, Group CEO, BWG; An Taoiseach Enda Kenny TD; and Willie O’Byrne, Managing Director, BWG Foods.
ecutive, BWG Group, said: “Despite the challenging economic conditions, we are committed to upgrading and expanding Value Centre premises in our network. We believe sustained investment is important because it helps achieve greater efficiencies for the business, which in turn delivers an enhanced service to customers, and has a positive knock-on effect for the local areas in which we operate.” John Moane, Managing Director, BWG Foods Wholesale division, noted how “The Castlebar site is an important part of our national footprint, serving customers across the west
of Ireland, and that’s why we made a decision to not only rebuild, but to significantly enhance our facilities, service and product offering. We feel our customers, staff and the wider business community will stand to benefit from this investment.” Located in Moneen Industrial Estate, Value Centre Castlebar has been in operation for over 30 years. The refurbished site has an improved lay-out, making it more user-friendly for staff and customers and ensuring the right range is available at the right price for all customers, whether hospitality, licensed or retail.
RGDATA Calls for Legal Reform “HIGHER penalties and zero tolerance needs to be adopted as a matter of urgency, as only 25% of retail crime perpetrators were prosecuted and convicted in the past year,” Roseanne Regan, Communications and Public Affairs Manager, RGDATA, told the National Retail Crime Conference recently. RGDATA would like to see the penalty system be reformed through a range
of initiatives, including stronger use of custodial sentences, a minimum term for robberies involving violence against a retailer and greater powers for judges to issue exclusion from shops on people who are persistently involved in robbing from shops. The inaugural National Retail Crime Conference focused on strategies to combat retail crime and pro-
vide solutions in areas such as, E-Crime, Shoplifting, Internal Fraud, Credit Card Fraud, Goods Lost in Transit (GLIT), Counterfeiting and Contraband. “Retail crime is a growing concern for independent retailers,” Regan noted. “97% of our members feel more vulnerable in their shops now, than in recent years. It Roseanne Regan, Commuis a problem that needs to be nications and Public Affairs addressed urgently.” Manager, RGDATA.