The theme of this year’s conference, Keeping it Local, brought together SPAR, EUROSPAR and ViVO retailers, suppliers and colleagues from Northern Ireland to discuss opportunities, share insights and lay out strategies for the future, hosted by broadcaster Claire McCollum and supported by Coca Cola HBC as the principal sponsor.

Henderson Wholesale staged panels, business sessions and networking opportunities, sharing best practices and new ideas, all designed to equip those in attendance with the tools and knowledge to thrive in an ever-evolving market.

Paddy Doody, Sales and Marketing Director at Henderson Group welcomed guests at the business session on day two, reflecting on the past two years with a nod to the business’s future goals.

Mr Doody said the conference ignited fresh ideas and renewed energy for all who attended.

“Our Wholesale Conference is a flagship event for our business, retailers and suppliers. It provides a platform for innovation and growth via collaboration within our sector, bringing opportunities for our retailers and suppliers to connect and gain valuable insight.

“We bring all the vital attributes together that can strengthen delegates’ businesses and explore new initiatives that are a benefit of being part of the Henderson Group. We are grateful to all our suppliers that supported our local conference, including principal sponsor Coca Cola HBC, and our platinum sponsors Danske Bank and Kellanova.”

Retail panels took place with independent retailers Marcus Mulgrew and Becky and Lucy McCammond each discussing their challenges and successes in recent years. Guest speaker Ken Hughes, a consumer behaviour specialist, imparted his wisdom on the importance of community connection with his award-winning insights.

Delegates were introduced to several new Directors throughout Henderson Group who have been appointed in the past 18 months, including HR Director Kathy Simpson, Retail Director George Rankin, and Chief Financial Officer Neil Gamble.

The conference was also an opportunity for the Group to drive fundraising for their retail charity partners, Marie Curie and Cancer Fund for Children. £175,000 was raised over the weekend and in particular at the Friday evening Emerald Ball through generous donations at the silent and live auctions, which will be split between both charities.

As part of the event, SPAR and Henderson leaders also participated in planting a native Irish tree in support of The Europe Hotel & Resort’s CSR initiative.

Henderson Group Joint Group Executive Chairs, Martin and Geoffrey Agnew were joined by Paddy Doody and SPAR International Managing Director, Tobias Wasmuht to plant the Birch tree, making a lasting contribution to Killarney’s natural environment, which is recognised as a UNESCO World Biosphere. Tours were also organised for delegates during the conference weekend, showcasing the beauty of the area.

“Our Wholesale Conference is about looking to the future of retail and celebrating the community partnerships which thrive throughout our retail estate of 400 independent stores, and the company’s entire supply chain,” said Martin Agnew.

“We pride ourselves in our local relationships, and taking the time to contribute to The Europe Hotel’s commitment to retaining their protected environment highlights our aligned values while reinforcing our long-standing commitment to grow our local environments, support local communities and create a positive legacy.”

The tree has been planted within the hotel’s Avenue of Appreciation. Each tree is tagged with the name of the company that planted it, symbolising appreciation and partnership while strengthening the local landscape.

The post Henderson Wholesale honours local heart of business at major conference first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.

The report published on Companies House says the increase in turnover is driven by solid like for like performance in both independent and company-owned stores, supported by Group company investments throughout its retail estate, including acquisitions by Henderson Retail.

The Group also attributes the positive results to its continuous focus on customer service, as well as more frequent missions by shoppers who wish to minimise waste, while warehouse facilities, strong stock availability and the Group’s investment in wholesale pricing make them an attractive wholesale partner.

Henderson Foodservice, which supplies to over 4,500 customers throughout the hospitality, education and healthcare sectors across the island of Ireland posted positive growth of +10.8% to £250 million compared to 2023, thanks to its exclusive new contracts with K&G McAtamney Wholesale Meats, Premier Wholesale Produce and Koffmann’s/The Food Heroes. The company’s retail coffee-to-go brand experienced significant growth and now has over 800 Barista units in 620 retail sites across the UK.

Profit before tax for 2024 was £63 million, approximately £6 million lower than in 2023, largely due to the Group’s strategic investment in wholesale and retail pricing, as well as continued investment in staff remuneration plus a wide range of other initiatives designed to improve colleague engagement.

Neil Gamble, Chief Financial Officer at Henderson Group said: “The grocery market remains highly competitive, therefore in 2024, we concentrated on investing profits back into the business to maintain our competitive position despite various economic challenges.

“Our co-investment strategy with retail partners has been key to establishing a best-in-class portfolio of supermarkets, forecourts and convenience stores, which has facilitated the strong sales performance across all our brand formats.”

GROWING POPULARITY

In total, the Group invested over £26 million across new and existing retail and property locations in 2024, while also renewing its partnership with Maxol to continue to supply 30 Henderson Retail operated service stations with branded fuel, with Henderson Wholesale continuing to supply to Maxol’s company owned service stations under the SPAR brand for the next five years on an exclusive basis.

Henderson Retail opened five EUROSPAR supermarkets in 2024, ahead of celebrating the brand’s 25^th anniversary in Northern Ireland this year. The year ended with the company operating 110 SPAR and EUROSPAR stores in Northern Ireland.

“The impact of inflation, higher interest rates and general deterioration in consumer sentiment made for a more challenging start to 2024,” he said.

“The directors continued to invest in retail and wholesaling prices to deliver better value for both retailers and shoppers, while our store refit, development and new openings, logistics, IT infrastructure and people development investments built a good foundation for future sustainable growth, which we are maintaining at a satisfactory level of profit so far in 2025.

“We are encouraged by the volume growth that we have experienced in 2025 reflecting growing popularity with the consumer for our proposition.”

The Group’s employee numbers at the end of 2024 reached 5,354, with a wage bill of £147m and almost 20% of employees engaged in Payroll Giving.

Henderson Group continued to fundraise for key charity partners in 2024 including Marie Curie, Cancer Fund for Children, Age NI, Tearfund, FareShare, Action Mental Health, NI Children’s Hospice, PIPS and Jack & Jill Children’s Foundation, raising approximately £1.7 million.

The post Financial results for 2024 performance posted by Henderson Group first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.

SPAR’s Taste of Summer includes popular BBQ meats sourced from K&G McAtamney in County Antrim, such as salt & chilli pork belly slices, chilli chicken kebabs and BBQ chicken wings.

Complementing the main dishes, the team have developed new summer sides with Donnelly Fresh in Dublin, including Orzo salad, basil pesto pasta, spicy couscous and Asian style noodle salad. The team have also developed a Greek Style Salad with Willowbrook Foods in County Down and mini summer cupcakes from Scotts Bakery in Fivemiletown.

SPAR NI’s Taste of Summer products have been designed by the team at Henderson Wholesale in response to consumer trends – with taste, provenance and value at the heart of the range.

Clare Bell, Fresh Food Marketing Manager at Henderson Group, which owns the SPAR and EUROSPAR brands in Northern Ireland said: “We have amazing suppliers in NI and ROI and it’s always been at the heart of Henderson Group to support them.

“Working with our trusted local suppliers, we’ve developed a range that offers great taste, quality ingredients and unbeatable value, bringing fresh, flavourful and top-quality products to our stores.

“Our shoppers tell us that they want convenient, tasty summer food, that’s perfect for al fresco dining, or for popping in the oven when the weather isn’t playing ball! So, we’ve developed a range where shoppers can find everything they need to impress their guests with succulent meats perfect for the BBQ alongside a variety of fresh, flavour-packed side salads.”

The ‘Taste of Summer’ range is now available in SPAR and EUROSPAR stores across the country. To view the full range of summer products, visit spar-ni.co.uk or eurosparni.co.uk

The post New locally produced summer range brings summer inSPARation   first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.

Having pledged a £60 million investment programme for 2023, Henderson Group was able to provide even more capital expenditure to its retail and wholesale infrastructure and technologies, their sustainable strategies and enhance their value promise.

Last year saw a total of 109 retail projects throughout the independent and company[1]owned estate of SPAR, EUROSPAR and ViVO branded stores, with Paddy Doody describing retention and recruitment as “excellent” with 12 new stores signing up to their brands in 2023.

The Group’s innovation, tech and sustainability achievements also took a step up in the last 12 months, as Mr Doody explains.

“We now have over 930 stores live with EDGEPoS (the point-of-sale software created by Henderson Technology) across the UK and Australia, more than one million electronic shelf-edge labels in use in over 200 sites and self-check-outs in nearly 200 stores,” explained Paddy.

“As part of our strategic Responsible Business pillar, we announced our partnership with bp pulse to install around 200 ultra-fast and rapid charging points at our Henderson Retail sites, with over 40 already installed by year-end 2023.

“We also switched on over 1,400 solar panels on our most newly built warehouse, and we continued to invest in value deals for our shoppers across the board.

“Our value promise was enhanced with a £7.8 million investment, with £3.5m of that invested into key areas such as milk, bread and eggs.”

In terms of performance, as of end of Q3 2023, Henderson Group’s turnover rose 9.4% on 2022 to £1.313bn.

‘Our value promise was enhanced with a £7.8 million investment, with £3.5 million of that invested into key areas such as milk, bread and eggs’

“Our Foodservice company continues to grow after a challenging few covid years, delivering a sales increase of 23.5% in the past year (up to end Q3 2023) thanks to their investment in tech and e-commerce repositioning.

“The business now processes almost half of its sales online, a strategy that has served both the company and its customers well.

“Our profits will once again be invested back into our business to create opportunities for our retailers, support our local fresh food suppliers and importantly, bring even more value to the shelves for our shoppers.”

HENDERSON RETAIL

Throughout 2023, Henderson Retail completed 35 company-owned store projects, and invested £30m into many of its flagship branded stores, allowing them to extend, update and renovate, including adding new services from new butchery and bakery counters to the new in-store production kitchen at EUROSPAR Victoria Road in Carrickfergus.

“We created 22,506 sq ft of additional retail space throughout the Henderson Retail network in the last year,” said Paddy Doody.

“With the accelerated change within the industry and shopper demands we prioritised updating our stores to include new food to go offerings with our Delish deli brand, extended to incorporate butchery counters, converted SPAR stores to EUROSPAR supermarkets, all to fit the needs of the communities within which they serve.”

Evolving to meet those needs is hugely important for the company, and Henderson Retail now operates 106 SPAR and EUROSPAR stores in Northern Ireland.

“We are a significant presence in many neighbourhoods and we need to provide quality services and products. The stores are quite literally the shop front of our business, they’re where our shoppers form their opinions on us and decide where their loyalties lie, so we need to be a community hub and I feel we are achieving that now more than ever.”

For their independent retailers, they saw 74 significant projects in 2023, including a new build EUROSPAR in Carryduff for the Mulgrews, as well as new build SPAR stores in Kesh, Rostrevor and Coopers Mill in Dundonald. Maxol also invested £2.4m to build a new 2,647 sq ft SPAR store at their Braid River site, which includes their second EV charging hub in NI, opening in December last year.

“Many of our independents are also bringing our popular Delish deli counter into their stores, plus extending their Barista Bar services, while taking advantage of our SPAR Bakery line,” added Paddy.

“Well-known retailers, the Knox family, rebranded all three of their Nisa stores in County Armagh and County Down to SPARs, and have another new SPAR opening in 2024. They’re all fantastic examples of building for the community around them. An additional 37,433 sq. ft. of retail space was created throughout the independent estate in 2023.”

Enhancing their value promise has been a key area of focus for the Group, and as Mr Doody mentioned, they invested £3.5m in key areas such as milk, bread and eggs.

CAMPAIGNS

Particular highlights included a successful second year of their Mega Deals campaign, and the biggest year of investment yet into the flagship deal campaign – 12 Deals of Christmas, which brings their retailers a huge sales opportunity in Q4 of the year.

“Throughout the year, EUROSPAR offers over a thousand products price matched to Tesco, while price drops on thousands of household essentials are available day-in, day-out.

“Another key target we met in 2023 was the previously mentioned switch on of 1,494 solar panels on our newest warehouse at our Group headquarters in Mallusk. They’re capable of generating 700,000 units of energy each year and is the equivalent of taking 309 cars off the road, an annual saving of 320,263kg in CO2 emissions.”

Having cemented their new partnership with bp pulse, and with over 40 chargers already installed, Paddy added some of their independent retailers have also switched on their own electric charging points at sites across the country.

“This will mean we are delivering one of Northern Ireland’s largest networks of EV charging points, a huge boost for the infrastructure here and those 18,000+ EV drivers we have in Northern Ireland.

“When it comes to independently owned stores, last year we invested £19.7m alongside our independent retailers to significantly increase the amount of retail space available at stores across Northern Ireland in 2023.

“In total, 109 significant retail projects – from new openings, conversions and extensions – were completed throughout our independent and company owned store network, representing a total investment of £49.7m.”

FUTURE-PROOF BUSINESS

Inevitably, the Group has faced the same challenges as other businesses, with the cost-of-living crisis and rising business costs continuing to put pressure on consumers and retailers alike. Amidst the ongoing Stormont stalemate, businesses are calling for politicians to return to work in order to provide some stability for the people of Northern Ireland.

“Like all industries and businesses here have stated, a functioning assembly is vital for people in Northern Ireland to make decisions for the people of Northern Ireland. Recent talks are indicating we are on the home stretch for the Executive to get back up and running, and we hope that is sooner rather than later,” said Paddy.

“When it comes to helping its retailers with the cost of doing business, Henderson Group is continuously innovating and trialling new concepts to bring improved cost efficiencies at store level, including self-check-outs, our EDGEPoS systems, electronic shelf edge labelling etc.

“We also co-invest with our retailers to help future-proof their businesses so that they can implement many of our innovations and reap rewards in the long-run.

“For the benefit of both our shoppers and our retailers, our level of investment in our value strategy will continue at the same level this year. We source locally as a priority which helps us drive down costs as well as keeping money in the local economy. Opening more EUROSPAR supermarkets in 2023 enabled us to bring even more supermarket offerings and prices to the doorsteps of our shoppers.

“We have stores in every community across Northern Ireland, and helping shoppers through the cost of living crisis is important, so we were also very proud to launch our partnership with FareShare in 2023, which saw SPAR donate £250,000, the equivalent of providing one million meals to its service users. Meanwhile, our Henderson Retail stores continued their foodbank donations throughout the year.

“At the tail end of 2023, we launched a Cosy Christmas giveaway, which saw 92 shoppers win £300 each at a time when they need it most. Our teams heard some stark yet heartwarming stories of who the money was going to and how much they needed it, and it reminds us that our stores really are hubs of the local community and while we cannot fix the root of this problem, we can certainly help to ease the strain for our shoppers and local communities.

“This is an ongoing problem which goes beyond our industry, however we will always strive to deliver on choice and value throughout our stores, support our local suppliers and our local foodbanks and community organisations.”

‘Henderson Group is continuously innovating and trialling new concepts to bring improved cost efficiencies at store level’

In the face of these challenges, the Group and many of their retailers have reaped rewards for their commitment and development, taking home awards and titles at some of the most prestigious awards ceremonies in the industry, something which Henderson Group is “really thrilled to see” added Paddy.

“Both our independent and company[1]owned stores swept the board at ceremonies such as the Retail Industry Awards and the Forecourt Trader Awards. Closer to home, our independents and company-owned stores were successful at the NR Awards, which as a local awards ceremony, makes it even fiercer competition!

“Awards aren’t just a mark of success but they’re a validation for hard work and a mark of respect from our peers in the industry. Our retailers are some of the most hardworking, forward thinking, innovative people in the industry, and why shouldn’t they be on the same par both nationally and internationally?

“On a brand level, it strengthens SPAR’s reach and reputation. It’s an opportunity for us to communicate just what having our brands above retailers’ doors can do for their business, and for the industry to see how we have diversified, how we’re engaging even more with our local communities, and how we’re strengthening our relationships with local producers and farmers. Awards schemes are essentially a showcase for great business and that is an important place to be for our retailers and our business.”

INVESTING IN BUSINESS

Looking ahead to what 2024 has instore for them, Paddy said the Henderson Group will continue to “invest, invest, invest”.

“We will invest in our retail partners, with whom we currently have nine major projects planned for 2024, representing an investment of £11m.

“33 of our independent retailers will also invest in their businesses, including that new build with the Knox family.

“From a company owned perspective, the investment will certainly continue with the team already working on 25 projects for this year.

“Our retailers can rely on our constant investment in our innovation, our technologies and our sustainability strategies.

“Part two of our solar powered warehouses project continues in 2024, with panels planned to be installed on Henderson’s Hyde Park warehouse, which will service Henderson Wholesale’s ambient range of products alongside the refrigerated Henderson Foodservice warehouse.”

When it comes to looking forward to the rest of 2024, Paddy says the industry is looking at decreasing inflation but still high costs relative to sales, energy and wages in particular. “We have an unpredictable political situation locally and in Ukraine and the Middle East, and there could be challenges around labour with low unemployment and high wage expectations which might impact staff recruitment and retention.”

With a workforce that has increased to over 5,000 staff, he added they have celebrated significant milestones with their independent retailers in 2023, with 15 retail partners celebrating milestone anniversaries totalling over 500 years serving their local communities.

Paddy finished: “We have a motivated work force and some of the best retailers in the world, many of those have been long-term partners of the Group, and we share our success with them and their achievements.

“They are pillars of their local communities, helping us bring value and provenance to shoppers, while supporting many charities and organisations. In 2023, alongside our staff and retailers, we raised over £700,000 for charity partners including Marie Curie, Cancer Fund for Children, Tearfund, FareShare and Action Mental Health.

“It is that spirit of partnership and motivation that will see their successes continue into 2024.”

TO READ PADDY DOODY’S INTERVIEW IN THE 2024 NEIGHBOURHOOD RETAILER YEARBOOK AND MARKETING GUIDE, CLICK HERE

The post Investment is key for Henderson Group first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.

Throughout 2023, 14 SPAR, EUROSPAR and ViVO retailers in Northern Ireland celebrated milestone partnership anniversaries with Henderson Group. The total came to over 500 years of retailing experience and commitment to serving their communities.

While some of our retail partners have been proud to display our brands above their doors for 50 years, many have been serving their local communities for even longer, through family businesses which have a passion for retail and locality. It’s incredible to look back at the evolution of their stores throughout the years, which are examples of how we as an industry must keep on moving – something more important in 2023 than ever.

2023 saw the completion of 109 retail projects across our company-owned and independent estate marking an investment of £49.7million. This included landmark store openings from the state-of-the-art EUROSPAR fresh foods superstore in Killyleagh, to extensions and renovations at some of Henderson’s busiest company-owned stores to update and introduce butchery and bakery, production kitchens and the popular Delish deli offering.

Henderson Wholesale continued to partner with independent retailers to build stores which deliver to the demands of that town and community, with Mulgrew’s EUROSPAR in Carryduff, SPAR Coopers Mill and SPAR Kesh standing out as significant new builds.

It means that throughout 2023, an incredible 59,940 sq. ft. of additional retail space was built by the Group and its partners to cater for Northern Ireland shoppers.

FUTUREPROOFING THE BUSINESS

Everything we do is with our retailers and shoppers in mind. We source 75% of our fresh produce from local farmers and suppliers, we invest heavily in deals and campaigns throughout the year, and we look to the future to ensure we are working sustainably so that we remain a robust business for our retail partners.

That futureproofing took a huge step forward in 2023 with the switching on of 1,494 solar panels which cover 75% of Henderson Wholesale’s fresh foods warehouse at the business’s headquarters in Mallusk. And at the end of the year, Henderson Retail announced a contract with bp pulse, which will see the installation of a new network of ultra-fast and rapid electric vehicle charging points throughout their 100+ SPAR and EUROSPAR sites.

Many of our independent partners are also leading the sustainability charge. Last year saw Maxol reveal the second of their Ultra Rapid EV Charging Hubs at their £2.4m Braid River SPAR in Ballymena, an impressive partnership investment that we strive for with our retailers.

When it comes to plans for 2024, the Group remains consistent with their intentions. We have always said we will channel profits back into the business and that is what we do year-on-year. We currently have significant investments planned for around 70 retail projects lined up for 2024 throughout our company owned, partnership and independent store network, including an exciting new build from the Knox family, a Nisa retailer who converted all three of their stores to SPAR in 2023.

Our business and our retail partners have stores in every neighbourhood in Northern Ireland, they are run by local people and employ local people. They get deliveries daily from local farmers, so money spent in those stores goes into that all-important circular economy here in NI.

TO READ MARTIN AGNEW’S INDUSTRY COMMENT IN THE 2024 NEIGHBOURHOOD RETAILER YEARBOOK AND MARKETING GUIDE, CLICK HERE

The post COMMENT: retail experience and community commitment from Henderson’s first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.