JD Hunter – a cut above the rest
Established in 1920 by the Hunter family, Markethill store JD Hunter & Co has embedded itself within the community and the wider Armagh area as a trusted grocery name. The 2025 Butcher of the Year winners tell NR about the importance of this win for their team and customers.
With a business spanning generations and one that has witnessed several significant changes over the decades, County Armagh store JD Hunter & Co has long established itself as a reliable retail business across the whole county.
A destination store, it prides itself on catering for not just Markethill, but the wider rural area, with customers travelling some miles to avail of its offers and services.
The current shop, situated on the Mowhan Road, was built in 1999 and had subsequent development works carried out to it in 2012 before an extensive refurbishment was carried out in 2020. A £500,000 investment was carried out at this stage with new fridges and fruit and veg units brought in and new shelving fixtures installed.
The recent work saw fridge capacity updated and efficiency works carried out throughout the store, whilst making use of the most up-to-date equipment in the chill world.
As store manager, Chris McClure told NR, the works to upgrade and improve the store have been very well received by their shoppers.
“The customer response has always been very good, as we are always keen to improve that shopping experience for them. Investment into the local community supermarket breeds positivity,” said Chris.
The store now proudly stands at approximately 30,000 sq ft and employs 129 staff across full-time, part-time and student roles. With a range of USPs, not least their award-winning butchery department, JD Hunter & Co offers some stand-out services in their store, including an extensive hardware and gardening section and an in-store Post Office offering another point of difference.
“I think firstly our level of service to our local community and beyond is second to none, whilst being heavily involved in both social and charitable events,” said Chris.
“Our butchery/deli counter would be a major footfall driver with the vast majority of products being local and produced in-store. A deli/butchery counter the size of ours is quite rare in supermarkets currently and forms one of our unique offerings, with over 75% of our fresh produce being local sourced.”
It was this commitment to local sourcing and using top-quality ingredients which impressed the judges of this year’s Neighbourhood Retailer Awards, and they were quick to praise the butchery department for their efforts.
With an “exceptionally curated selection of premium meats and complementary items, all showcased in a sophisticated and organised setting” the judges were bowled over. “The staff were well trained and highly consultative, ensuring customers received great advice and information on the products,” they added.
“We source our meat from a number of suppliers with our biggest being our red meat supplier, Hewitt Meats Loughgall,” said Chris.
“We are also supplied by Pinkterons, Elliots, Rockvale, Carrs Elite Foods, Doherty & Gray, Grange Farm/Sprotts to name but a few. We have placed a massive emphasis on supporting and promoting locally sourced products which can be found throughout the shopping experience in-store.
“We were delighted to be there in person to accept such a prestigious award. We are humbled and honoured and would like to express our sincere gratitude to the Neighbourhood Retailer Awards for this incredible recognition.
“Adrian and our dedicated butchery team, with their hard work and dedicated, have thoroughly earned the right to call themselves Butcher of the Year.”
In the days following their win, the team at JD Hunter ran a variety of competitions, thanking customers for their support and celebrating their win.
“Feedback from customers has been excellent, with us even hosting a visit from the Irish Butchers’ Guild on 5th November” added Chris.
“This was another proud moment for Adrian and our butchery team and a great opportunity for them to network with some of the most experienced butchers in the profession.
“Our social media competitions have been, as always, well supported as our butchery department moves from strength to strength.”
Having been owned and managed by the Henderson Group from 2019, in the summer of 2022 it was announced that South Belfast retailer and family-run business, the Creighton Group had acquired JD Hunter, with the takeover happening during August that year.
A well-known and popular independent retailer, the group is headed by brother-and-sister team Niall Creighton and Gail Boyd and operates three award-winning stores – Creightons of Finaghy, Creightons of Blacks Road and Creightons of Balmoral.
At the time of the takeover, Niall said expanding the company name was part of their business plan.
“We are honoured to have the opportunity to take over a store that has been family-run since the early 1900s, which mirrors our own family business,” he said.
Chris said he and the staff at JD Hunter had been equally delighted to have another family business at the helm.
“We as a team felt that it was important that ‘Hunters’ would remain a family-run independent business and were delighted to learn that the Creighton family would be taking over the business in 2022,” he said.
“The Creighton family have themselves been in business from 1936 and therefore have many similarities to the Hunter family who started their journey in 1920.
“We have been blessed to have been acquired by such a reputable, long-standing business like the Creighton family with Niall and Gail embedding those unique family values throughout the way we do business and serve our customers.”
READ THE FULL FEATURE ON JD HUNTER & CO IN THE NOVEMBER-DECEMBER ISSUE OF NEIGHBOURHOOD RETAILER HERE
