Annual report & review 2006 - Shopic.com

Interview with our Group CEO
exciting to take a brand like Londis on a journey that
sees steadily enhanced range, value and services for
consumers that means more business for retailers. A
good example of this is the improved fresh range we
introduced to Londis stores in 2006.
It will come as no surprise to Irish people that our Centra
brand has made a huge contribution to establishing
Ireland as a world leader in the convenience market
– and that we’re bringing even greater consumer choice
to Ireland’s convenience sector with the more recent
success of our Daybreak brand.
How are retailers improving their offers to
customers
CM: We’ve worked hard with retailers to improve
significantly the quality and range of fresh food on offer.
In addition, many of our stores now lead with fairly priced,
top quality local produce, and our increased focus in this
area has really raised the standards of local community
shopping.
We’ve also concentrated on responding to local needs
and encouraging retailers to incorporate a wide range of
additional services. Take our Centra forecourt in Lee’s
Charleville – it is in the vanguard of Centra innovation
with hot food including a wokery made up to eat in or
take away; you can also get a cappuccino, latte or a fruit
smoothie. If you decide to dine in you can watch Sky
News, re-charge your mobile phone free of charge or
check your emails by availing of the WiFi hotspot. In
Great Britain, our new wave of Budgens stores are also
leading the way with this strong emphasis on consumer
services – from in-store dry cleaning services to tasting
and demos by specialist suppliers.
And this is just the beginning, with new stores coming
on board over the next few months. Although our stores
are already recognised as some of the best convenience
brands worldwide, we want to continue to push the
boundaries, so they become the de facto convenience
brands of choice, by consistently anticipating changing
consumer needs.
Why is it so important that local stores thrive in the
heart of communities
CM: Partly it’s about choice. The lifestyle shift – with
both partners in half of all households now working
outside the home – continues to build demand for
convenient, easily accessible stores, with healthy,
ready‐meal solutions and food-to-go. For many families,
the traditional once-a-week household shop is being
replaced by multiple visits to convenient stores.
But it’s also about building and maintaining sustainable
communities. The small independent store is so often
the lifeblood of our communities and in many cases
the decline of a village or town is directly linked to the
closure of the local independently owned shop.
Through our network of independently owned local
stores, we have seen the positive contribution a store
brings to the community – from supporting local
producers, to creating vibrant, sustainable, economic
infrastructures that encourage local trade and
provide a place for sharing news and vital local
information.
Local store owners take on a responsibility for the
communities in which they operate. They care about their
customers, their local suppliers and the environment that
surrounds them.
What are your priorities for the year ahead
CM: As always, my priorities centre on working with our
retailers to anticipate consumer demands and to meet
those demands with innovation, quality and value for
money. And right now I believe there’s a real sense of
urgency in our mission.
Operating in the heart of local communities, much closer
to consumers than the multiples, our retailers are ideally
positioned to provide this different and better shopping
experience. It’s our job to give them whatever they need
to deliver that experience to their customers.
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Musgrave Group Plc Annual Report & Review 2006