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Deliveroo launches first physical store on London’s New Oxford Street

Linda Stewart — Tue, 04 Oct 2022 08:53:25 +0000

Food delivery giant Deliveroo has launched its first bricks-and-mortar grocery store in the UK, in partnership with Morrisons, on New Oxford Street in London.

Customers at the new Deliveroo HOP store will be able to walk in to order and shop for groceries, including Morrisons’ ‘Ready to Eat’ and ‘The Best’ ranges.

The move comes as new research from Deliveroo revealed the need for convenience and availability, with around one in three dinner plans decided on the day and ingredients being bought on the way home.

The grocery store offers customers a new way to shop, enabling them to shop in-store by ordering through digital kiosks, ordering via the Deliveroo app for collection at the store, and for delivery within minutes to local residents, offices and other addresses via Deliveroo’s network of riders.

Open from 8am to 11pm, the store will offer more than 1,750 grocery items, from Morrisons ranges to store cupboard staples, snacks and dinner ingredients, with Deliveroo’s dedicated site team picking and packing the orders, ready for collection or delivery in minutes.

Eric French, chief operating officer at Deliveroo, said: “We’re opening our doors and welcoming commuters, local residents, visitors and day-trippers into our first Deliveroo high-street grocery store in the UK.

“Our New Oxford Street store promises a new way to shop for Deliveroo customers, giving them even greater flexibility and choice and should help boost the local area with nearly two thirds of shoppers saying they will visit other nearby shops as they come to shop with Deliveroo.”

Ahead of the launch of the grocery store, Deliveroo commissioned new research to understand how people shop, finding that 40% of shoppers reported buying groceries once every two to three days, bucking the age-old ‘weekly shop’ trends, while younger people champion convenience, with almost half (42%) of 18-34 year olds ranking it as the number one determining factor when purchasing groceries, while 38% of those surveyed rank price as most important.

Almost a quarter (24%) of Londoners now use rapid grocery services once a week to get their groceries, and nearly two thirds of those asked (61%) said they were likely to also visit other nearby shops while shopping for groceries.

Hannah Horsfall, head of wholesale at Morrisons, said: “The launch of Deliveroo Hop’s first bricks-and-mortar store represents another key moment in our partnership.

“The store will not only offer customers a wide choice of groceries from Morrisons but also a variety of ways to shop for them.”

Deliveroo is also expanding its partnership with Too Good To Go to the new grocery store, helping to reduce food waste by offering customers the chance to buy £15 worth of food nearing its sell-by date for the cost of £5.

The ‘Magic Bag’ can be ordered via the Too Good To Go app and will include a range of non-frozen food including own-brand products, groceries or meat and fish nearing their sell-by-date from ‘Deliveroo HOP’ grocery partners.

Deliveroo HOP first launched in September 2021 and now operates across 16 sites in the UK, France, Italy, Hong Kong and the UAE.

Its list of grocery partners continues to grow, with new and expanded partnerships with Waitrose, Sainsbury’s, Co-op, ASDA and Spar, alongside Auchan in France, Esselunga in Italy, and ParknShop in Hong Kong.

Deliveroo has almost 7,000 grocery sites in the UK and Ireland, across major partners and smaller independent partners.

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Belfast dessert shop saved from closure after lifeline from local business chief

Linda Stewart — Wed, 28 Sep 2022 09:46:36 +0000

A popular west Belfast dessert shop has been saved from closure after a generous offer of help from a local man.

Grainne from Patisserie G based at Beechmount Avenue took to social media to share the good news, after revealing a man who is the CEO of Amcomri Group Limited offered to pay the establishment’s electricity bill.

The local coffee and cake spot had been due to close for good as soon as this Saturday but will now reopen fully this Monday.

It marks a remarkable turnaround for one business after the raft of closures impacting on local companies across Northern Ireland in recent weeks as a result of rising costs.

The news was greeted with joy by the many hundreds who commented in response to the post on social media.

In a post on Facebook, the business owner wrote: “I was all set to close the Patisserie on Saturday, heartbroken not just because of the work I put in everyday, but the people I’d be letting down with breakfast club, the ones who come in just to off load because there’s no one at home, the kids, entrepreneurs club, book club, our regulars, the women’s group,” she wrote.

“I got a message and phone call from the son of a man who was born into Amcomri Street. He is now the CEO of a major company. The Amcomri Group. The McGowans are willing to pay our electricity bills and keep the Patisserie open.

“I went from emotional thanking him to: ‘Is this a joke’, to whoa, no thank you is big enough.

“It’s been a rollercoaster, a few of my adorable customers have pointed out last week how tired I looked. So I’m taking this week off to recharge, breathe, do some work in the Patisserie that needs sorted.

“A massive thank you to everyone who bought gifts/donations. I am actually cut to the bone because they were for closing and they turned into ‘staying open’ gifts. As if I’m not socially awkward enough receiving gifts but thank you from the bottom of my heart.

“Reopening Monday 3 October. Breakfast club on, Halloween decorating classes on, young entrepreneurs club Halloween week on.

“But how incredible to those kids in the club to have someone like [the] McGowans to look up to. Never be afraid to reach further than the stars. I said from the first day in the entrepreneurs club, it doesn’t matter where you live, with hard work and dedication you can be anything you want to be.”

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The Food Warehouse to open in Westwood Retail Park

Linda Stewart — Mon, 26 Sep 2022 10:42:52 +0000

Food retailer The Food Warehouse has announced the creation of up to 40 new jobs in West Belfast as part of a wider £1.4m investment.

Situated in Westwood Retail Park, this will be the brand’s second supermarket store offering in Northern Ireland.

The Food Warehouse, which is part of the Iceland Foods Group, launched its big pack brand in 2014 and its retail footprint has grown rapidly to over 150 stores across the UK and Ireland, making it the fastest growing supermarket chain in the UK this century.

The Food Warehouse have announced the creation of up to 40 new jobs as part of a wider £1.4m investment. The new store, situated in Westwood Retail Park, will occupy a 16,300 sq. ft double unit and is scheduled to launch in the coming weeks.

Ron Metcalfe, managing director of The Food Warehouse Ireland, said: “Following the success of our launch into the Northern Ireland market with the first Food Warehouse in 2020, we’re thrilled to be opening our second store here at Westwood Retail Park in West Belfast.

“Throughout the pandemic and its subsequent recovery, we’ve seen strong demand in a very competitive market, and we believe that shoppers will welcome the innovative offering at our new store, particularly in a challenging economic environment with the current cost of living crisis.”

Customers can shop from more than 3,000 product lines, including fresh, frozen, and ambient produce as well as homeware items.

The store will support local business, with hundreds of products coming from local suppliers, including Mash Direct, Dale Farm, Irwins, Britvic and Tayto.

Metcalfe continued: “Trading conditions for small businesses are increasingly challenging, with margins being stretched, we believe that local businesses and the general public will benefit from our bulk offering, which offers savings on a wide range of favourite brands at unbeatable prices.

“We are committed to offering a new shopping experience for everyone as well as strengthening relationships further with local Northern Irish suppliers. I’d also like to welcome old and new customers from the local community as well as our new colleagues who will be working in the store.”

Store manager, Paul McTasney, added; “This investment into West Belfast demonstrates the company’s commitment and growth in Northern Ireland. I’m very excited to officially open the store for business and welcome all of our new customers.”

The new Food Warehouse store opens at Westwood Retail Park on Tuesday, October 11 at 8am.

Shoppers will receive exclusive launch offers as well as a £1,000 giveaway for the first 100 customers through the door, 200 goodie bags for the first 200 customers and a trolley dash where three lucky winners can grab all their favourite brands in a 90 second challenge.

Founded in 2014, The Food Warehouse now has more than 150 stores across UK & Northern Ireland.

They are all large format stores, with a car park, providing the value and convenience of a wholesale store without the hassle of membership.

Iceland and The Food Warehouse stores already employ more than 800 colleagues in Northern Ireland with plans to expand in the future.

Caption: Store Manager Paul McTasney and Iceland Area Manager Danny Burke

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Neighbourhood Retailer Awards: finalists for Store Manager of the Year award

Linda Stewart — Fri, 23 Sep 2022 13:19:29 +0000

The waiting is over! The Neighbourhood Retailer Awards are delighted to announce the finalists for the Store Manager of the Year award.

The appetite for this year’s awards has been immense and we have received more than 500 entries to this year’s competition, which has been independently judged by industry specialists Spotcheck NI to rigorous standards.

To reach this stage of the competition is a major achievement, and we’re looking forward to meeting all the finalists at the NR Gala Awards Dinner on October 28 at the Crowne Plaza, Belfast.

The finalists for the Store Manager of the Year award are:

Niall Kirkpatrick, Centra Portglenone
Craig Crossey-Truesdale, SPAR Dublin Road
Chris Lawlor, EUROSPAR Donegall Road
Ruairi McBride, Ivan Wilson Limited Centra
Samuel McCann, SPAR Malone Road
Elaine Sharwin, SuperValu Downpatrick
John Fox, EUROSPAR Kilkeel

We’re looking forward to seeing you! To find out more about booking your table at the Awards, click HERE.

The post Neighbourhood Retailer Awards: finalists for Store Manager of the Year award first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.

Lynas Food Outlet opening new store In Portadown

Linda Stewart — Fri, 02 Sep 2022 13:56:20 +0000

Lynas Food Outlet, a Northern Ireland family-run food company known for its offering of big, bulk and value food and household goods, is launching its newest store in Portadown.

The new Lynas Food Outlet is situated at Magowan West, Portadown and will open to the public and trade on Thursday 8^th September at 10am.

“We are thrilled to open the doors of our new Portadown store as part of our continued expansion in Northern Ireland. For a long time, I have wanted to open a Lynas Food Outlet in this area, and I am very happy to have found the right location in Magowan West”, said Andrew Lynas, Group Managing Director.

“We are excited to welcome the public and trade customers from the area into our unique shopping environment that ensures they get big, bulk and value products. Now more than ever in the current cost of living crisis, the Food Outlet can help families with its bulk and value for money offering.”

Lynas Food Outlet opened their first store in 2013 and now have 11 stores across Northern Ireland. The parent company of Lynas Foodservice began over seventy years ago from a fishmongers shop on a small street in Coleraine and has grown into the largest family-owned foodservice company in Ireland.

Through its stores, Lynas Food Outlet offers hundreds of quality fresh, frozen, grocery and household products in bigger packs at wholesale value. The stores also have their own Butchery Merchant meaning that each cut is hand selected by Lynas’s own Causeway Prime Craft Butchers.

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