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 5^th 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

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Among those sampling and demonstrating their tasty fayre in-store were Gilfresh Produce from Armagh, Simply Fruit from Craigavon, Milgro Onions from Limavady, Dale Farm, PRM and Ireland’s largest fruit and vegetable distributor, Keelings.

All producers gave shoppers the opportunity to sample their products and speak directly to them about the journey of their food from field to fork, while enjoying exclusive promotions on the products instore from 25^th to 28^th April.

JD Hunter & Co. continues to show support to their local community and beyond, with 75% of fresh foods supplied by Henderson Wholesale to independent SPAR and EUROSPAR retailers across Northern Ireland sourced from local suppliers. The showcase not only highlighted the offering available to shoppers in store, but also the range of local suppliers and quality produce available across the island of Ireland.

As part of the showcase, Lynsey Evans, Commercial Manager of Produce & Horticulture at Henderson Group, Chris McClure, Store Manager at JD Hunter & Co. and Susie Moran from Keelings all paid a visit to Markethill Primary School and St Teresa’s Primary School to give a presentation on the health benefits of fruit and vegetables, how food is harvested and information on local suppliers. Each pupil also received a supply of local produce to take home and extend the healthy eating message from the classroom to home.

JD Hunter & Co. have always been passionate about providing locally sourced produce to the community and the store was awarded Independent Fresh Produce Retailer of the Year at the Retail Industry Awards in 2022 for their expansive range and fresh offering for shoppers.

The store was acquired by South Belfast retailer and family-run business, Creightons, in 2022 and employs 145 people from the local community. The Creighton Group have three other stores across South Belfast, EUROSPAR Finaghy, EUROSPAR Balmoral and SPAR Blacks Rd.

Chris McClure, store manager at JD Hunter & Co. said: “We have amazing suppliers in Northern Ireland, and it’s always been important to us to support local. The in-store showcase was a great opportunity for our shoppers to speak to the suppliers directly and hear more about where their produce is coming from.

“Being part of the community, it’s important to have an impact on our shoppers but also on the younger children in our local schools, encouraging them to think about healthy eating and where their food is coming from. The support from our suppliers has been amazing and I want to thank them for such an engaging and informative showcase.”

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Paula, who is passionate about local produce and can be seen in her latest BBC series, Paula McIntyre’s Hamely Kitchen on Friday nights, created recipes exclusively for JD Hunter, and

showed shoppers how simple they were to cook up from all the quality products available in store, which are sourced from local farmers, suppliers and growers.

Hundreds of shoppers enjoyed Paula’s demonstrations on the shop floor and enjoyed sampling them even more! Paula gave her time generously and even autographed a few of her cookbooks for visitors on the day.

Gail Boyd of Creighton Group, who have recently acquired JD Hunter & Co of Markethill said: “It was such a treat hosting Paula at JD Hunter & Co. for our shoppers, who all got to sample her magnificent cooking. Paula is as passionate about local produce as we are, so we were delighted to have her in-store and create some really special and delicious dishes that our shoppers can create easily at home, using products they can pick up in our store.

“We pride ourselves in sourcing only the best, fresh and local, quality products for our shoppers, which not only includes well-known local brands, but also hyper-local artisan producers such as Ballylisk of Armagh, Cornacrew Farm Produce, Pinkertons of Armagh, Hewitt Meats and Chapel Lane Eggs.

“It has been fantastic holding these events to get to know our local community even better, since we took over the store in August and we look forward to hosting many more!”

Paula McIntyre’s recipe cards are still available for shoppers to pick up at JD Hunter & Co. supermarket.

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The independent South Belfast retailer announced earlier this month that it had acquired JD Hunter & Co and was due to take over on August 15.

The Creighton family operates three well known independent businesses under the SPAR and EUROSPAR brands and have bought the Armagh business outright for an undisclosed sum.

The supermarket will continue to trade as JD Hunter & Co., joining the Creighton family’s repertoire as their fourth retail business, alongside Creightons EUROSPAR of Finaghy, Creightons EUROSPAR of Balmoral and Creightons SPAR of Blacks Road.

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Owned and managed by the Henderson Group since 2019, JD Hunter & Co. employs 145 people from the local community, all of whom have been informed that they will remain in continuous employment under the new ownership.

The Creighton family operates three well known independent businesses under the SPAR and EUROSPAR brands and have bought the Armagh business outright for an undisclosed sum.

Ron Whitten, Chief Financial Officer at Henderson Group said: “The Creighton family have been highly successful, award-winning independent retailers working with Hendersons for many years. We have enjoyed a close working relationship during this time, and welcome the news of this acquisition, which consolidates our partnership even further.

“Since we took over the operation in 2019, we have invested considerably in the business, making it a sound prospect for Creightons to continue with that success. We’re delighted that another family business will take over the reins and continue the ethos which has been built within the local community and its many organisations and partnerships.”

Niall Creighton said: “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, which was established by my father 86 years ago in 1936.

“Expanding the Creightons company name, which has become synonymous with community retailing over the years, has always been our long-term strategy, and we look forward to bringing even more to the community, always keeping locally sourced products and partnerships at the forefront of the business.”

The supermarket will continue to trade as JD Hunter & Co., joining the Creighton family’s repertoire as their fourth retail business, alongside Creightons EUROSPAR of Finaghy, Creightons EUROSPAR of Balmoral and Creightons SPAR of Blacks Road.

The Creighton family have been trading in the Belfast area since 1936 at their Finaghy store, which now stands as a South Belfast landmark. Creightons EUROSPAR of Finaghy houses a Post Office, deli, florist, carwash and fuel forecourt, along with Creightons butchery products and Creightons own prepared meals, and takes great pride in sourcing all its products locally.

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