Musgrave Group is studying the Government’s ‘Ireland 2040’ infrastructure plans as well as demographic trends as it plots new store and product rollouts. It believes intensive urbanisation in Dublin and Belfast will suit its online grocery business.
The retail and wholesale group, whose brands include SuperValu and Centra, made a pre-tax profit of €80m in the year to December 30, on sales of €3.7bn.
Profits were up 9pc on 2016, the third year in a row of profitability, and the business was sitting on net cash of €71m and net assets of €330m at year-end.
The group has plans to open two new SuperValu stores this year, and after withdrawing from the UK in recent years is now largely focused on growing on the island of Ireland, although with some export tie-ups targeting China and the Middle East.
“A lot of food retailers have retrenched to their domestic markets,” said Musgrave Group CEO Chris Martin.
On the island of Ireland, the market for food consumed in-home or out of the house is €30bn and growing, he said.
The group was “looking at the plans around 2040” he said.
That reference to the Government’s ‘Ireland 2040’ development plan is among the first times a senior business figure as explicitly cited the planning blueprint in his own strategic thinking.
That’s big enough for further growth, he said.
“Uniquely, the Irish food market is faster-growing than the UK, despite food deflation,” he said.
Competition in the grocery sector remains fierce, with pressure from German discounters Aldi and Lidl a big factor, but Musgrave reported double-digit online growth and is focused on building up its branded offerings including the Frank & Honest Coffee chain, Mood Icecream which is now in 60 stores, and Chip Monger, a franchise that promises economies of scale to independent chip shop operators similar to the Centra brand for shops.
