country’s last remaining independent groups, Pettitt’s Supermarkets, joined the SuperValu network. This brought five new stores to the brand and added 80,000 square feet of food retail space. Today, the footprint for both brands continues to grow, with 194 SuperValu stores and 475 Centra stores dotted across every community in Ireland.
Continuous Investment
John Cole’s original VG store.
Initially, both brands were confined to Munster and South Leinster. However, they subsequently expanded their territory with the acquisition of the Galway-based supermarket group, Nilands, and Garveys of Drogheda, which gave the group access to outlets in Connacht, Ulster, North Leinster and Dublin. One of the most significant events in SuperValu’s growth came in 1987 with the collapse of the H. Williams Group, when Musgrave purchased 15 of these stores and established SuperValu as a major player and
“We have a considerable advantage over our competitors in the quality and value of our partnership with our independent retailers. This relationship is at the heart of our business.”
gained a strong presence in Leinster. The purchase of the L&N group in 1995 also represented another important strategic move for Musgrave. It allowed them to strengthen the brand, further extend the group into key areas of population and help improve the competitiveness of the independent trade. Expansion of the SuperValu and Centra brands has continued at a steady rate over the years, coming from various sources, including existing retailers investing in the expansion of their existing stores, new retailers joining the group and the development of greenfield sites. In 2005, SuperValu reached a significant milestone, when one of the
Continuous investment is one of the key aspects of Musgrave’s success. The company reinvests much of its profits back into its business each year, to ensure retailers are provided with best practice support systems in distribution, technology, marketing, innovation and HR. Its logistics system has seen major investment over the last 30 years. For example, its chilled distribution facilities allow nationwide distribution of an extensive range of fresh food products to all stores across the network, no matter how remote. Like Musgrave, every year SuperValu and Centra retailers invest their own profits back into their businesses, to ensure their stores are modern and meet the highest of standards across the board. In 2008, there were 37 major revamps in SuperValu and 82 in Centra. This work represented an investment of over €120m across both brands.
The launch of Caulfield’s VG supermarket in 1978. 3