Musgrave had a solid performance in 2023, in terms of growth in sales, acquisitions, stores and new stores and new partnerships. While businesses everywhere were faced with the challenge of rising energy costs and the cost-of-living crisis, we continued to deliver for both our customers and retail partners and remain in a strong position as we head in 2024.

We focused strongly on our value offering for shoppers. Indications show that inflation is beginning to slow down, and 2024 could be more stable than previous years. However, insights demonstrate that while spending will be up for some consumers seeking quality food-to-go products, others will remain cautious and value and own brand will remain a priority.

Research shows that increasingly consumers are trusting own brand labels and the gap between them, and the big brands is closing. Accordingly, value will remain a priority for us, as we continue to offer excellent value on everyday essentials in SuperValu with our campaign ‘Saving is as easy as 1, 2, 3’ and in Centra with ‘Shop Smart, Feel Good’. Both brands will continue offering savings on big brand items through our Epic Deals campaign while ‘Savvy Savers’ will be continued in Mace stores.

We continued to support our retail partners to reduce their environmental impact through our Sustainability Fund. Research shows sustainability remains prevalent in the minds of shoppers, but it’s too big an issue for individuals to tackle themselves, therefore they’re calling for businesses to act.

AMBITIOUS INVESTMENT PROGRAMME

At Musgrave, we’re already making great strides in achieving our 2040 net zero emissions ambition and our Fund has played a vital role, enabling our retailers to introduce measures that are making a real difference in terms of reducing energy usage by, on average 10-15% per store, reducing paper consumption and saving CO2.

Expansion in 2024 will be a driver for Musgrave. We have an ambitious investment programme ahead that will welcome new retail partners and stores to the business, help our existing retailers grow their businesses, and develop our company owned portfolio.

We are always on the lookout for new opportunities, whether that’s identifying a greenfield site for a new development, changing the use of an existing business or competitor conversions and would encourage any interested parties to get in touch.

We are looking forward to another successful year for our SuperValu, Centra and Mace brands and my thanks go to our retail partners and teams for their continued hard work and dedication to serving their local communities with the best in modern convenience retailing and providing shoppers with excellent value, choice, and quality across our stores.

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

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Already this year, Centra Foxes Glen on the Stewartstown Road, Belfast opened its doors supporting 21 jobs, including 10 new positions.

The investment will also fund significant refurbishments of SuperValu and Centra stores. Following the refresh of four SuperValu stores in 2022 as part of Musgrave’s SuperValu Rejuvenation programme, several new stores will benefit from refurbishment creating an enhanced shopping experience, including a new hot and cold deli counter, a Moo’d Ice Cream bar, expanded in-store bakery, and an upgraded off-licence.

‘AMBITIOUS PLANS’

Trevor Magill, Managing Director for Musgrave in Northern Ireland said: “We have ambitious plans to grow our network of stores this year with 18 new stores due to open in 2023 across the region.

“Working with our retail partners, we are making significant upgrades to our stores to ensure that we are providing the best quality shopping experience possible, whilst reducing our impact on the environment.

“Our stores are at the heart of the communities in which we operate, and I’d like to thank our dedicated teams across SuperValu, Centra and MACE for helping us provide those communities with great quality, value and excellent customer service.”

In 2022 Musgrave introduced a £2.7m Sustainability Fund, and in 2023 environmental impact remains high on the agenda with an additional £1m committed to supporting stores in reducing their carbon footprint.

To achieve Musgrave Group’s goal of Net Zero by 2040, the business has been supporting its retailers by providing suitable initiatives based on each store’s needs and set-up, including upgrading freezers and refrigeration units, LED lighting retrofit, solar panels, and electronic shelf edge labels (eSELs).

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Having worked in the legal and private sector for over 25 years, Linus Murray has extensive experience in the licensing and convenience industry. This makes him best placed to advise and guide those in the retail sector on obtaining licences for their stores.

The demand for off sales increased significantly during the pandemic, with hospitality shut down and consumers seeking an alternative way to still enjoy their drinks at home. Retailers capitalised on this opportunity, introducing off sales into stores, providing customers with even more options to satisfy all their shopping needs.

FOOTFALL AND SPEND

Linus said many retailers described the increase in footfall and spend as being “like Christmas every day”.

“During covid, shop turnover was very significant and this continued for a long, long time,” said Linus.

“The commercial benefit for a shop getting a licence is very evident – if you can get an off sales into a shop, you are going to get approximately 20% more spend in your store. This comes from impulse buys, so commercially it is very viable and very lucrative.”

With 25 years’ commercial experience specialising in hospitality and licensing, Linus was named a new partner at Belfast-based law firm, McKees last November, a move he describes as a “perfect fit”.

‘The commercial benefit for a shop getting a licence is very evident – if you can get an off sales into a shop, you are going to get approximately 20% more spend in your store’

“I enjoy working in the hospitality and convenience legal sectors and helping our clients grow their business. It’s an exciting, challenging time and business is going really well,” he said.

In the last few years Linus has secured licences for approximately 20 new mixed trade convenience licences across Northern Ireland, and with a host of lucrative clients, including Musgrave, he is well established as the key figure in the industry to turn to.

“Musgrave, which operates the SuperValu, Centra and Mace retail brands, has been very pleased with what we’ve done with Managing Director Trevor Magill describing it as being transformational for the business. Because myself and the licensing team at McKees have extensive experience in this area, we can make the process relatively easy for them.”

‘TRANSFORMATIONAL’

McKees recently assisted SuperValu in Newry in securing a mixed trade convenience licence in approximately eight weeks. We spoke to David Og Downey and he said: “McKees made what had appeared to us to be a complex and extremely difficult process to be straightforward and their expertise and professionalism was exceptional. Securing a licence for our store has been transformational for the business.”

When a retailer approaches McKees, the firm takes ownership of the case from the outset, carrying out a preliminary review of the prospects of getting a licence and then sourcing a suitable licence for them.

“Once we receive that initial phone call and establish what they want, we will take control from start to finish. At the moment, a licence costs in the region of £100,000 to £110,000, that is on the back of the surrender principle.”

Linus describes the surrender principle as the main challenge for retailers.

“To get a new licence, you have to surrender a licence. You can’t just create a new off sales, you need to surrender a licence and show there is a need for an off sales in the area,” he said.

‘Preparation is key, you cannot be prepared enough – that is why I am very focused on making sure that cases are presented as thoroughly as possible’

“It is very common to get objections from other interested parties and that’s when the process can become complex, requiring expert legal and planning advice. An unopposed application usually takes in the region of two to three months, while an opposed application can take up to 12 months. There is court involvement, other experts, such as planning experts and then the application is presented to the Judge, who will make a determination.

“Preparation is key, you cannot be prepared enough – that is why I am very focused on making sure that cases are presented as thoroughly as possible.

“At McKees, not only do we have the legal expertise, but we have the commercial and strategic expertise, where we can advise the retailers on all aspects of their legal work.

“The key incentive is if you can have an off sales on the site from day one, it enhances the commerciality of the business. So, we are involved with businesses from start to finish and we are keen to represent as many of those retailers in the sector to the best of our ability.”

To contact Linus Murray or the licensing team at McKees, call 028 9023 2303, email linus.murray@mckees-law.com or go to www.mckees-law.com for further information on the services available.

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“One of Musgrave’s key values is to build long term stable relationships, and that is exactly what we have with our retail partners and retailers. We’re committed to supporting them throughout their business journey. It is these partnerships that undoubtedly contribute to the success of our retail brands, which have experienced growth in 2022 and there is further expansion planned for 2023.”

INVESTMENT

Investing £14m in its store network in 2022, Musgrave welcomed the opening of a brand new 3,000 sq ft Centra store and forecourt on the Stewartstown Road in Belfast – the second store for retailers the Farrells.

“Our Business Development team is focused on growing our brands and is therefore continually seeking new opportunities for our retail partners. They identified this site and presented it to the Farrells as a lucrative opportunity to expand their business. We’re delighted to say that since opening, the store has exceeded expectations and sales are very strong.

“McGleenan’s Centra in Keady underwent a major £2m refurbishment and we welcomed six new Mace stores to our network. Our expansion is set to continue this year starting with two new competitor conversions to the Mace brand and one to Centra in Q1, as well as a brand new Centra store in the summer.”

AWARD WINS

The brands enjoyed success with award wins at both the prestigious UK-wide Retail Industry Awards and the Neighbourhood Retailer Awards.

“We were thrilled to attend these industry events with our retail partners. At the Retail Industry Awards in London, McGleenan’s Centra in Keady won Independent Retailer of the Year (Over 6,000 sq ft); Lusty’s Centra Larne picked up Drinks Retailer of the Year award and Peter Wilson, owner of SuperValu Portadown, was awarded Newcomer of the Year – all fantastic achievements.

“Closer to home, it was also great to see the Neighbourhood Retailer Awards return, celebrating the best in food retailing across Northern Ireland.  Congratulations to McCool’s Centra Ballymena which won Neighbourhood Store of the Year Category 3; Moran’s Centra Coleraine which won Forecourt of the Year Category 1; and Ruairi McBride of Ivan Wilson Centra Limavady, who took home the Store Manager of the Year award.

“We were very pleased to welcome our retailers to our conference and Store of the Year Awards at the Slieve Donard Hotel for the first time since 2019, to recognise and celebrate their hard work and commitment, and we’re looking forward to the next event in May.

“While there will always be challenges to overcome in business, thanks to the incredible relationships we have with our retail partners and retailers, their hard work and dedication during what have undoubtedly been a testing few years, we’re confident in achieving continued success for our brands. We look forward to growing our network across Northern Ireland and offering our customers excellent value, choice and quality in our stores.”

TO READ PADDY’S INDUSTRY COMMENT IN THE 2023 NEIGHBOURHOOD RETAILER YEARBOOK AND MARKETING GUIDE, CLICK HERE

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From Monday 13^th February, shoppers in SuperValu, Centra, MACE and Musgrave MarketPlace will be able to donate £1 via a simple “Tap to Donate” mechanism at the till, with 100% of the funds donated going directly to help support the immediate humanitarian response.

As part of the campaign, Musgrave Group will donate £88,000 (€100,000) to two charities who are actively supporting people on the ground in Syria and Turkey: UNICEF and the Red Cross.

MUCH-NEEDED SUPPLIES

Trevor Magill, Managing Director of Musgrave NI, said: “We in Musgrave Northern Ireland, along with our customers, colleagues and retail partners have all been deeply saddened by the scale of the humanitarian crisis following the earthquake in Syria and Turkey.

“Musgrave Group is immediately contributing £88,000 (€100,000) to UNICEF and the Red Cross to help bring much-needed supplies including food, blankets, and medicine to those impacted by this devastating event.

“We are also encouraging our customers to donate what they can at the till. Working closely with the charities, we will ensure that 100 per cent of the donations go as quickly as possible to help those who need it.”

Commenting on the appeal, UNICEF Ireland Executive Director Peter Power said: “The children of Syria and Turkey urgently need support. Through this action by Musgrave and their customers, UNICEF will be able to protect more children and deliver critical life-saving support to those affected by the earthquake in Syria and Turkey.”

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