SuperValu is a chain of grocery stores in Ireland, Spain and the UK. The company is headquartered in Cork County,Ireland.

History

SuperValu was founded in the year 1979. The VG chain owned by the Musgrave Retail Group started this chain of stores. The VG chain was originally formed in 1960, but later was split to become the SuperValu chain of stores (the larger VG stores) and the Centra chain (the smaller VG stores).

Initially, there were only 16 SuperValu stores, most of which were located in the area of Munster. However, over the years, the number of SuperValu stores grew until in 2004 there were a total of 36 SuperValus in Northern Ireland (part of the UK) and 182 in the Republic of Ireland.

Over the years, the Musgrave Retail Group implemented a policy of buying grocery and convenience stores and then leasing these stores to franchisees. Among the stores that were re-leased were H. Williams (acquired in 1987), L&N (acquired in 1995) and Northern Ireland’s Wellworths (acquired in 1996).

After the acquisition of Wellworths (small and medium stores), the stores’ trading name became Wellworths-SuperValu. This was done in order to distinguish these small and medium Wellworths stores from the larger ones that were acquired by Safeway. Over the years, the Wellworths name was omitted and the stores became known as SuperValu.

For some time, there were also SuperValu stores inside the larger stores of Roches. These stores were named “SuperValu at Roches Stores.” Aside from the national brands that it sells in the stores, SuperValu also has its own retail brand. The chain caters to both normal and high-end consumers with its SuperValue and SuperValu Supreme brands. With these brands, SuperValu aims to prove to consumers that their prices are as reasonable as those prices offered by giant retail chains like Dunnes Stores or Tesco.

Today, SuperValu stores have a similar format with those of Londis or SPAR stores. These stores, although included in a chain, are owned individually by franchisees. The stores follow a standard branding and store layout. It also sells the stores’ private label brands (the SuperValu brand in SuperValu stores for instance).

Headquarters: Cork County, Ireland
Ownership Type: a subsidiary of Musgrave Retail Group
Employees: information not available
Geography: UK, Ireland, Spain
Demography: retail products consumers

Brands
SuperValu, SuperValu Supreme, SuperValu Nice Price

Important links
SuperValu Corporate Home Page
Promotions and Coupons
Products
SuperValu Store Locator
Contact Information