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SUPERVALU HAS CLOSED two stores in recent weeks, bringing to three the number closed this year, after the chain found it “impossible” to keep the outlets open amid slower trade.
Factors in the closures are understood to have included the location of the stores and local competition. Growth in consumer spending at Supervalu has slowed year on year relative to rival supermarket chains Tesco and Dunnes.
The closures come amid an ongoing cost-of-living crisis as retail’s competitive Christmas season nears.
Supervalu’s parent company, Musgrave, said “trading difficulties over a number of years” preceded the closure of the supermarkets in Ballymun in north Dublin and Kilkenny’s Market Cross in recent weeks.
It follows the closure of another store in Cork city’s Merchants Quay shopping centre earlier this year.
Damian O’Reilly, retail lecturer at Technical University Dublin, believes the closures are an example of how competitive the sector is at present, along with SuperValu still struggling to retain a number of stores it rebranded from Superquinn a decade ago.
These former Superquinns are run directly by Musgrave rather than on a franchised model.
A spokesperson for Musgrave told The Journal that it “has not been possible to identify” any way to keep its affected stores in Kilkenny and Ballymun open, leading to the potential loss of approximately 80 jobs combined, according to local media.
“The difficult decision to close these stores was store-specific and made after separate assessment processes at store level,” Musgrave said.
“The stores have experienced trading difficulties over a number of years, and unfortunately it has not been possible to identify a solution for either store that would make them viable over the long term.
“The store closures are no reflection on the hard work, commitment and support of SuperValu colleagues in both stores. A 30-day consultation period is taking place with all affected colleagues.”
Traditionally regarded as among the pricier of the so-called ‘Big Five’ supermarket chains in Ireland, the latest market analysis still shows that the company has managed to weather any cost-of-living storm for its overall business.
It recorded a six percent increase in consumer spending over the past year, but this was behind growth at rivals Dunnes (10.8 percent) and Tesco (11.3 percent).
SuperValu’s 21 percent market share was also lower than rivals Dunnes (23 percent) and Tesco (21 percent) in the latest data provided by market research firm Kantar.
Among the discount grocery companies, Lidl saw a significant increase of 10.7 percent in its consumer spending. Aldi recorded the lowest growth of the five at 2.6 percent.
O’Reilly said Kantar’s latest figures are an example of how the SuperValu chain is “fighting hard” for market share by maintaining lower prices.
Supermarkets across the board are seeing a decrease in overall net profit while recording an increase in sales.
O’Reilly pointed to a decision in June by Tesco to lower prices on more than 700 products, a move which Finance Minister Michael McGrath hailed at the time as “quite a significant turning point” for grocery price inflation.
“You can see that margins are down in the sector. So the Irish results are showing us it’s been an increase in sales but a decrease in overall net profit,” O’Reilly said.
“This would suggest that the supermarkets are fighting hard for market share by maintaining lower prices, so that’s also meaning lower prices are kicking back in.”
This week has seen latest data for the sector indicate that Irish grocery price inflation has hit single figures for first time this year – the sixth consecutive month that there has been a drop in inflation.
Despite the shopping centre locations of the Kilkenny and Cork branches, low footfall is believed to have helped to contribute to their demise.
The Kilkenny supermarket is one of the old Superquinn stores which were taken over in 2011.
Musgrave took over 24 supermarkets which were previously run by the Quinn family, eventually rebranding them as SuperValu in 2014.
But according to O’Reilly, the chain has often struggled with these outlets. Previously, in 2016, it closed ex-Superquinns in Clonmel and Carlow only two years after taking them over.
“They’ve had to close down a couple of those stores because they weren’t viable. They took these stores on but in the case of Kilkenny, there’s three other supermarkets nearby including a franchised SuperValu,” he said.
O’Reilly added that the competition between different supermarkets can often mean “a lot of pressure in a relatively small area”.
The demise of the Ballymun store, which was franchised, came for a different reason according to O’Reilly.
“They were taking out the fresh bakery and butchers, the fresh fruits, so that it had become more like a convenience store rather than a destination store. So it might have ended up being a store just in the wrong location.”
More broadly, he said that customers are shopping more for own label brands, with the latest data showing they account for half of spending.
“Between the big five retailers there is a lot of pressure to maintain market share, so SuperValu have done very well to kind of marginalise the discounters because they’re not getting market share as quickly as they were previously,” O’Reilly said.
Christmas
He added that “flux” can be expected coming up to the Christmas period, as shoppers may try to temper their spending in the coming weeks.
“The suggestion from the surveys that have been done is that people will spend more time at home, have more people around but for finer quality products coming up to Christmas, meaning they spend a little bit more but I think they are very conscious of waste for now, partially because of the cost of living.”
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Very little value in SuperValu.
@Tommy Haze: very true. It’s the dearest supermarket in today’s market. Ye can get a cooked chicken in dunnes for just under € 6 while in supervalu it’s roughly €9 and the dunnes one is bigger, in my experience. Anywaysanall i wouldn’t be doing a full shop in supervalu anytime soon.
@Tommy Haze: it’s the dearest of the lot. And they’re all robbers.
@Paul Gorry: bigger chicken not always best value.Those ckickens are force fed in six weeks birth to slaughter .Free range surely better choice.
I am talking like for like. No chickens in both stores were classed as free range. Just large chickens.
@Tommy Haze: 3 for €10
@Shane O Mac: i miss superquinn sausages
We are going to see many many businesses close unfortunately. The cost of doing business in this country has gone off the rails.
Staff costs are constantly rising. Before anyone has a Hussy fit.
Any cost increases in business is passed on to the customer.
Rising wage cost, drives, rising costs at the till.it’s that simple. If you don’t cover costs. Business closed, bust.
We have increased wage cost year on year.
Added costs
Holiday pay
Pensions
Sick pay
4 day week
Domestic abuse pay
Paternity leave
Maternity leave
Employers PRSI
Staff that can only work 18 hours due to being on social welfare payments.
Lack of availability of staff.
All these payments are great but unfortunately they drive up costs.
Businesses then have
Rent costs
Rates
Vat
Corporation tax
Vrt
NCT
Cvrt
Tolls
Road tax
After this they have massive increases in energy costs.
Ridiculous increase in insurance. Driven by our claims culture and predatory practices in , medical, consultants, Assessors, lawyers and claimants.
The ever increasing cost of stock comes next.
Add in maintenance costs. Compliance in different trades, training of staff.
Lastly the unknown cost of theft is another reason for cost increases.
Then you begin to wonder why anyone is in business in this country.
It’s not easy.
The next comment will probably be from some super intelligent guy or gal saying something like if the business is not able to pay for itself. It should close. That’s exactly what is happening at the moment. No business is set up to achieve failure. However our Government is driving business in that direction at present. Problem is we will be left with the cheapest options. Not always the best option. They will then sell only what they want to sell with very little options for the customer. Totally due to lack of competition. This scenario is not just confined to retail. It’s endemic in business in general in Ireland. It’s no longer a Country competitive to do business in.
@Max Cooper:
If the business is not able to pay for itself. It should close.
:D
@KTH: Good Girl. You win a Cookie.
@Max Cooper: Every business has those costs and regulations to deal with and not every business is struggling so much it has to close down. Competition from rival businesses is the main reason businesses close.
@Max Cooper: you’ve turned me right off starting a business!
@Max Cooper: So somehow it’s the people’s fault and not corporate greed?
@Max Cooper: Theft is huge and only getting worse and people wonder why prices are going up,
@Max Cooper: It’s not that simple though is it. Inflation is always used as an excuse by business to jack up prices far beyond what the actual price increases warrant. It’s estimated that about half of the price rises that we are seeing are just profiteering. These companies are churning out record profits. How can that be?
@Max Cooper: a lot you say is true…
@Max Cooper: Grocery bills have nearly doubled across the board. They’re raking it in. Because they can. The only competition is with an eye to knocking competitors out of the Irish market.
Supervalue ???
If ever there was a misnomer !!!!
That’s what happens when you rip people off,spar is another example.
@Michael Creagh: what ye mean? You can get a chicken fillet roll for €7 with a ” free ” can of your choice. Thats a bargain isn’t it not?
@Paul Gorry: €7 roll with a can included is a more accurate description. Of course the shop will call it free.
@Paul Gorry: That’s robbery price
BTW why is this one of the very few stories I can comment on. The only reason I visit this wretched site is being able to make comments.
@Corey Dalton: pure novelty
@Corey Dalton: Boycott any story with no comments.
@Corey Dalton: do you have friends you can talk to?
@Corey Dalton: And then you leave a comment like the one you did. Brilliant work.
When Ballymun shopping center closed down, SuperValu was the only proper supermarket within a mile radius. They serviced the area well especially during lockdown. Lidl set up shop literally a few 100yrds away and took all their business. It just shows the loyalty of customers towards Irish businesses, they’d go somewhere else if it meant saving a couple of Euro.
To the ppl who used to shop in SuperValu Ballymun, take a bow, you should be proud of yourselves……
@Heywood Jablome: Can’t knock people for wanting to save a couple of Euro.
@Louis Jacob: No but my argument with these fickle customers is the money they spend in Lidl leaves Ireland and into the pockets of foreign shareholders. Personally I wouldn’t jump ship just to save a couple of quid.
@Heywood Jablome: It is how it is. Lotta things to pay for these days.
@Heywood Jablome: Ahhhhhhh so slag off the customer trying to save a few bob. If ye can afford it go for it that’s your peroctive. But stop with that nonsense.
@Paul Gorry: We used to have major industries in this country but they went out of business or pulled out because of ppl like you.
@Heywood Jablome: now c’mon for a start supervalu in ballymun was never going to work in the longterm. Probably two parking spots if you’re driving to shop. Now I was in there a few times and the staff were lovely and hate to see them lose their jobs. But aldi and lidl are hiring and offering fair rates of pay. Moving down the road to Northside shopping centre in coolock dunnes is hopping and supervalu is just a big convenience store with very little patrons the reason for that is value for money. Now I get what you’re saying for sure but living in the past is exactly that..
@Heywood Jablome: Well if you have a family to feed a “couple of euro” can mean a lot. And by the way, the savings in Lidl are not a “couple of euro” they are way more. A chicken in Lidl can be €6 and Irish while in Supervalu it can be €9. Add those differences add up across the range and you can be talking about €20 plus.
@Heywood Jablome: No, they went out of business because instead of paying €15 an hour working on an factory line, they moved to economies paying €5 an hour working on a factory line
@Heywood Jablome: Fickle customers? It’s called “competition”. People in a free society can chose to shop where they want and where they get better value for their hard earned money. With that attitude I wonder do you only holiday in Ireland and only buy Irish?
@Heywood Jablome: that’s not fair as the difference here could mean saving an extra 50 quid a week.
@Heywood Jablome: is this a windup?
@Heywood Jablome: Why wouldn’t you want more in your own pocket rather than these big rip-off companies just to support local.
@Emer Daly: saving 50 a week means a super valu holiday
@Heywood Jablome: I buy all my food in Aldi or Lidl.
Practically all of that is produced in Ireland.
Is there any reason I should support an Irish millionaire rather than a German millionaire?
Particularly when the Irish millionaire is ripping me off?
@Heywood Jablome: Caught in the money cycle. If there was no competition we’d have the same situation as the banks. The systems that control these cycles need constant adjustment but instead, it’s just more more more. Prices go up because shareholders need boats, as long as that is the case you’ll find us ‘ratting’ about looking for deals.
@Heywood Jablome: probably accurate to say all profits, Irish owned or not, go out of the country, one way or the other. What you have to look at is Irish jobs, Irish suppliers, that’s where the gain is. Good to see the Germans increasing their Irish brands in recent years, not a patch on the others, but a start.
Coz the Irish would rather spend their money in British and German supermarkets
@GVR: I shop with Dunnes personally because its the best value with quality but cost of living crisis + inflation = people are scared half to death so go to the cheapest they can afford. End of
@GVR: so here’s a scenario for you. The air fryer in supervalu is €129 in an Irish owned shop and the same model is € 89 in a German owned shop. Which one would you go for?
@GVR: im all for buying irish & using irish shops but when theres an extra 50c – €1 tagged in to everything it adds up when you’re trying to budget your money for the family grocery shop.
@GVR: It’s not about who owns them it’s about value.
I only go into Supervalu for certain things, and buy their own brand products.
A survey was done in our area and turns out 70% of the town don’t use the only supermarket in the area for their full weekly shop. So of 5000 housholds, 3500 do their weekly shop elsewhere, rather than use the local supermarket, meaning a drive of 10-20km to other areas to do their weekly shopping.
It’s not about the natiionality of the store, it’s about the price. And SuperValu prices are outrageous, clearly only 1500 households in the area can afford to do their full shop in the only supermarket in the town.
They could double that number of households, or by more, by lowering prices.
@GVR: yes indeed. I couldn’t care less where they are from. It’s all about bang for your buck!
@Harry Hope: He has .maybe he is gone off to look for a free range chicken.
@GVR: SuperValu owned by an Irish family vs., say, Aldi owned by two German brothers. What difference does that make to any of us? Both companies pay corporation tax in Ireland. Both companies employ staff in Ireland. I’ve nothing against the Musgrave family but I don’t benefit if I’m putting money in their pockets rather than some German’s pockets.
@GVR: Lol cause the Irish would happily rip their neighbour off with greater pleasure than any other nation.
@Shane O Neill: Yes you do benefit, the irish owner will use their money in irish businesses e.g. cars, furniture, clothes etc, whereas the german owners won’t be spending their profits in Ireland. This helps businesses in Ireland employ more people, increases the tax take here, etc.
Now I’m not saying you should just buy in Irish stores as we all have to make decisions based on our circumstances and if you can get the same product cheaper in a foreign owned store then most of us will go there as we are struggling to balance our household budgets.
@Shane O Neill: you are absolutely right! Aldi and lidle supply good jobs
I won a €1000 voucher for super valu on dermot and dave a few years ago,i thought lovely free weekly shops for about 6 weeks going by what we were spending in tesco/lidl weekly at the time.the voucher was almost spent after the 3rd weeks shopping.
Not a big shopping expert but my experience of supermarkets is as follows. The German shops are definitely cheaper and one of the reasons is that don’t provide as much choice. That means less waste. SuperValu provides more choice even when that doesn’t provide much benefit to the customer. I generally go to Aldi or Lidl for good value, limited choice, and less waste.
What’s with the no comments on a lot of articles… FG no comment, Israel. What next ?
Thought this was a platform to discuss the news.. FG and Leo must have shares in this so called media site
@Triton: The site is riddled with Trolls is why.
SuperValu = SuperRob , everything in there is overpriced compared to Dunnes Stores
Prices there have gone through the roof! Dearest supermarket, not worth it!
I used shop on Supervalu because of the location and the staff were there years. Stopped shopping there this year and changed to Tesco. I’m shocked at the price differences. Some items are the exact same but other items are a lot cheaper in Tesco. Supervalu will pride themselves out of the market
@Maniac 2000: *price themselves out of the market
If business owners weren’t so greedy themselves wanting stone wall guaranteed x amount of profit per year no matter what is going on in the world and if costs for the average Joe need to increase ten fold to achieve it so be it. That will result in the average Joe wanting more money and better conditions of employment to be able to survive and pay the prices the business owners want for that x amount of profit. It’s a never ending vicious circle and any decent Government who cared would develop policy to tackle it but that would require brains and and some form of apathy towards struggling people and businesses owners under pressure to do it to begin with which is badly lacking in copious amount within this current collection of TD’s. Work needs to progress any individual not just make you be able to exist and survive regardless of what level you work at. A shelf stacker should have a pathway to becoming a manager if tjry want and feel able to achieve it. I’m a manager today and walked that pathway. Full time work should be able to put you in a position to better your life and pay bills at the same time and if it doesn’t do both there is something serious wrong.
Vote with your feet folks!
One positive thing about SuperValu is their willingness to stock produce from local suppliers. The SuperValus in Westport, Wicklow and Waterford will each stock local sausages, rashers, milk, etc.
My local SV is way over stuffed, been idol at the tills, and then the slow shelves stackers.
I can only speak for my closest SuperValu, (Talbot Street), but it doesn’t have anything like the range of fruit, vegetables, bread, etc, as some of the other city centre supermarkets. It’s too small. I only go there for a couple of items because it’s near the Dart.
@Shane O Neill: the deli is whopper tho
Went to Dunnes yesterday and picked up a Lucozade. Went to the self service check out and they were selling Multipack bottles. No barcode at all.
@Keith Bourke: Very doubtful.
@Daniel Roche:Oh no Daniel doesn’t believe me
*Technological* University Dublin, not Technical.
SuperValu is a unfortunate name nothing super value about that shop. The one in Ballymun is close to Lidl no wonder it closed
@Paul: Exactly. At least local people still have one decent supermarket within walking distance.
So all five have seen an increase in spending, four of them well above inflation.
Something smells bad.
@Steve O’Hara Smith.: They’re trying to gain a monopoly again. No bargains there for people.
Bad job when they have to close in Kilkenny since TESCO doesn’t even operate there.
@Mayo seem to be the football equivalent of Waterfo: yeah it always struck me as odd that Kilkenny has the cheek to call itself a city and it doesn’t even have a Tesco
@Martin Mongan: there is a tesco going there soon
The only thing SuperValu is fit for is buying their supeequinn sausages
@Itsme83: superquinn
If want to save on your shopping and still want some branded products. Set up account at a wholesalers then with your family and friends go once a month and bulk buy. Then just buy your fresh local.
The most misnamed supermarket in the country.
Let the free market reign… .
We moved on from the Viking , Norman , Dame and other invasions. We should move on from the UK invasion so many of us in Ireland work for uk companies for every 10 uk people you meet at lest 7 will have a connection to Ireland.
If we formed a trade agreement and open our markets fully to each other, it would benefit us hugely.
@J M: Not sure how when Lidl & Aldi are better value. I’ve often noticed how much cheaper UK prices are than here for the same items. They charge whatever we’re willing to pay.
@F Fitzgerald: I get a can of deodorant for £1.50 in boots. The exact same one in boots in Dublin was €4.50
It Technological University Dublin, not Technical. Journalists on this site
Some years ago I used to get a cup of tea in Supervalu to go with a sausage bap or a sandwich for lunch. I think it was €1.40, self service. Then one day the machine was gone, I was directed to the ‘Rank & Compost’ coffee dock, where they wanted €2.40. I left down the sandwich and walked out. Never went there again.
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