SuperValu has recorded a new sales milestone of €2.724 billion in 2018.
'A key trend in 2018 was the continued growth in SuperValu’s online shopping service, with 25% year-on-year growth in online sales and an additional 26,000 new customers using the service,' the retailer said in a statement.
The group also invested 'substantially' in its Real Rewards loyalty programme, with membership growing to 1.2 million people.
“We continue to build on our food leadership credentials and further establish SuperValu as a destination shop by responding to consumer trends and shopping requirements both in-store and online," Martin Kelleher, the groups managing director said.
30/30
SuperValu plans to expand its network by opening three new stores in 2019, creating 210 new jobs in the process, and revamping 30 additional stores as part of a €30 million investment programme.
"We plan to build our momentum in 2019 with a €30 million investment programme, which will see three new stores opened and an existing 30 stores revamped," Kelleher added.
One of the key sales trends last year the retailer said was increasing consumer demand for health and wellness-related products of which the SuperValu now offers consumers over 1,000 products in this catergory.
Vegan Demand
SuperValu now boosts a health and wellness aisle in all stores with a range of over 1,000 products and has also recently introduced a range of over 340 vegan products to meet consumer demand.
The group will, "continue to rollout new shopping concepts such as Vegetarian and Vegan zones, new salad bars and health and wellness aisles, adding both theatre and on trend ranges for the new shoppers evolving tastes.” Kelleher added.
Own Brand Shows Growth
SuperValu’s Signature Taste premium range was a standout line for the retailer, growing sales by over 10% on the previous year.
The range currently features over 330 products with another 40 expected to hit the shelves in 2019.
In 2018, SuperValu became the first retailer in Ireland to introduce fully compostable and biodegradable bags for produce, along with increasing their loose range of fruit and veg.
© 2019 Checkout – your source for the latest Irish retail news. Article by Donna Ahern. Click subscribe to sign up for the Checkout print edition.
