Annual report & review 2006 - Shopic.com

Different & better – retailers & local suppliers
Centra – Bright ideas for everyday living
The opening of the 400th Centra store in the Republic
of Ireland in November was a major milestone in 2006.
Noel Dunne’s 260 square metre Centra on Parnell Street
in Dublin claimed the magic milestone and was one of
a remarkable 47 new Centra stores that opened in the
Republic of Ireland during the year.
Noel, who lives as well as works in the area, has been in
the retail industry for more than 20 years. His store is part
of the €50 million regeneration of the Ilac centre area
that faces on to Parnell Street and Moore Street.
The new store is bright and airy with high ceilings, large
windows and plenty of innovative features to capture the
constant passing trade.
‘The plasma screens and electronic menu boards
really catch the eye and draw in crowds – especially in
the evenings,’ Noel explains. ‘Our focus is very much
on time-stretched consumers, so we’re offering our
customers a strong, fresh food-to-go range including
instant meals and hot foods – there is also a smoothie
bar, a deli counter and a wokery.’
And to support the store’s impressive wine selection,
Noel has installed a touch‐screen ‘wine expert’ to help
customers make more informed choices. ‘This was a
real experiment,’ says Noel. ‘It certainly looked the part
next to the racks, but I wasn’t sure
how much it would be used.’ The
innovation has turned out to be a real
success. ‘It first came into its own
on special occasions
like Christmas and
Valentine’s Day.
Customers used it to
make sure they got
the perfect wine in
their price range. Now
it’s used all the time.’
The huge investment
in the area including
the regeneration The connoisseur’s touch: an
of Moore Street
in‐store electronic ‘wine expert’
has re‐established enables customers to pick the
the area as a key
perfect wine within their budget
shopping area in
Dublin city centre. ‘We researched thoroughly before
opening and the preparatory work has really paid off,’
Noel explains. ‘All the new stores that have been kicked
off by the regeneration have increased footfall in the area
very significantly and we’ve made sure we have the right
offer for our customers.’
Plans for the year ahead include
a pavement seating area in front
of the store, so Noel’s customers
can enjoy their lattes and paninis
al fresco over the summer.
‡
Local food for local
stores – Carty Meats
Ted Carty (left) runs Carty Meats, an
Athlone-based business started almost
50 years ago by his father Oliver. Ted is
passionate about his product, constantly
extolling the virtues of Irish pork and the value of traditional
processing and cures.
This focus and commitment has translated into quite
astonishing growth for this Irish business. Turnover has
rocketed from €792,000 in 1995 to in excess of €32 million in
2006, which translates into an awful lot of bacon – 2.5 million
rashers in fact.
Working with SuperValu, at the end of 2006 Ted introduced a
new premium range of rashers called SuperValu Supreme, with
each individual rasher pack carrying the photograph of the
actual farmer who produced the bacon. This will be made
possible by the traceability systems already in place at
Carty Meats.
The top quality back bacon is cured by hand using sea salt and
left to mature slowly for a fuller flavour and succulent taste.
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Musgrave Group Plc Annual Report & Review 2006