Cork-based Musgrave to grow Donnybrook Fair
Musgrave is ‘open’ to increasing the number of Donnybrook Fair stores but has stopped short of saying whether it wants to expand its newest subsidiary brand outside the greater Dublin area.
The Cork-based wholesale, retail and foodservice group has acquired the Dublin-focused premium food store chain for an undisclosed sum. The deal covers Donnybrook Fair’s five stores in Donnybrook, Malahide, Stillorgan, Greystones and Baggot St, as well as its gourmet food production facility.
All the above assets will be retained, as will the Donnybrook Fair brand. A spokesperson for Musgrave said further investment will be made in the brand and that “we are open to increasing the number of stores”.
However, an official statement from the group — which owns the SuperValu, Centra and Daybreak retail brands — suggests the main thinking behind the deal was the chance to further its presence in and around the capital.
Donnybrook Fair will strengthen Musgrave’s presence in the growing Dublin food market and will complement Musgrave’s existing brands,” it said, with group chief executive Chris Martin adding: “Donnybrook Fair increases our penetration of the Dublin food market and our intention is to maintain and grow the brand for the long term.
Existing Donnybrook Fair owner Joe Doyle — who started the business from the original smaller and more traditionally-styled Donnybrook Fair grocery store, in the south Dublin suburb in 1991 — will remain with the business.
Donnybrook Fair employs around 250 staff across its network of businesses. Musgrave, reportedly, beat stiff competition to purchase the business, with Dunnes Stores linked to it earlier in the summer.
Earlier this year, Musgrave strengthened its foodservice division by purchasing — for an estimated €30m — the LaRousse hotel and restaurant food supplier from Cuisine de France owner Aryzta.
In May, on the back of a slightly mixed set of annual accounts, which showed a 9% boost in pre-tax profits, for 2017, to €80m; but only a 0.3% jump in revenues to €3.7bn (due to store closures across the Centra and SuperValu chains), Musgrave said it was planning a number of new in-store retail brands, with some holding the potential to be expanded into standalone high street brands.
In-store brands, such as the faux coffee shop model Frank and Honest have boosted Musgrave’s retail brands.
But, only its Chipmonger chip shop chain acts as a standalone outside of its traditional chains.
