Garvey’s Centra Adare deservedly collected a major industry awards double in November when named as Neighbourhood Store of the Year at the Pride of Centra Awards before picking up the Excellence in Fresh Food Retailing in a Convenience Store award at the National Grocery Retail Awards just two days later.
The unbeatable modern customer experience provided by the exceptional team at Garvey’s Centra in Adare was recognised not once but twice in November, 2023 when this bustling, vibrant and progressive store was acknowledged with two major industry awards.
The celebrations began at the Pride of Centra Awards in Dublin’s Mansion House on Wednesday night, November 8th, where Garvey’s Centra Adare was honoured with the prestigious Neighbourhood Store of the Year award.
Two days later, the Garvey’s Centra team returned to the capital and duly made it a memorable double when triumphing once more at the 2023 National Grocery Retail Awards ceremony at the Radisson Blu Royal Hotel, Dublin, on Friday night, November 10th, taking the coveted Excellence in Fresh Food Retailing in a Convenience Store award back to the Treaty County.
To be so consistently ranked amongst Ireland’s premier stores represents quite an achievement for Garvey’s Centra Adare and it is no less than they deserve. Garvey’s Centra Adare is a modern, customer-focused convenience store offering tremendous choice and a harmonious and prompt experience to the discerning shopper of today, with the emphasis and prevailing ethos very much focused on Fresh food, service, value and sustainability.
Centra Adare was acquired by the Garvey Group in 2021, when it became the group’s third store in County Limerick and tenth overall. The multi-award-winning store has been transformed during its first three years under the renowned Garvey banner, culminating in the remarkable double success of November, ’23.
“We are absolutely delighted to have won these two awards,” commented store manager Ger Walsh. “The entire team are thrilled and the awards reflect all the hard work that has been invested into the store by our team since Garvey’s took it on in January, 2021.”
Ger agrees that awards such as these are first and foremost recognition of the invaluable efforts of the staff: “Our team have been exceptional and the awards are for them. They are a brilliant team. We took over the store in the middle of Covid and completely revamped and transformed it in November, 2022.
“The team have been exceptional in how they have dealt with these challenges and changes. At present, we have a fantastic team of 40 people, with ten new jobs having been created here since the store was revamped.”
It is wholly fitting that this popular store received the National Grocery Retail Awards’ Excellence in Fresh Food Retailing in a Convenience Store award as fresh food is one of the pillars of Garvey’s Centra Adare, which is renowned for the quality of its hot and cold deli, butchery, fishmonger, Stratch bakery, fruit & veg and wine offerings.
“We wanted to bring a fresh food experience to the people of Adare,” Ger enthuses. “As well as the busy deli which provides a range of food on the go, we have a scratch bakery and an in-house butchery and fishmonger department, all of which specialise in the freshest of produce prepared instore.
“We also have a massive Speciality Chesse, Italticessen, gluten-free, vegan and vegetarian offering in the store across all products. Our passion is for Fresh food and we wanted to be known for providing the best fresh food in the area, which is what we take great pride in doing for our customers.”
Centra is Ireland’s leading convenience retailer serving over 3.5 million customers per week, providing convenient shopping with value and quality front of mind. With 496 bright and accessible stores, Centra supports over 38,000 jobs and directly employs approximately 12,000 people across the country.
Centra is part of Musgrave Retail Partners Ireland, the retail franchise division of Musgrave Group, one of Ireland’s largest grocery and food distributors. At the heart of the communities in which it operates, Centra have since 2010 been proud sponsors of the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship – a competition Limerick people have a particularly strong bond with in recent times!
“We strive to bring a European and world class experience to the shop on behalf of our customers,” Ger continues. “We’ve implemented a lot of innovation in the store and we pride ourselves on bringing something different to our customers in terms of food innovation, creativity and sustainability. Sustainability is huge and in this respect we have installed new LED lighting across the store as well as new refrigeration and solar panels, while our DRS [Deposit Return Scheme] recycling machines will be operational from February, 2024.”
Has Centra Adare exceeded expectations since it was incorporated into the Garvey Group? “We are very happy with how it has gone so far and we hope to bring even more to the people of Adare,” Ger adds.
Garvey’s Centra Adare is an inherent hub of the local community and this is very important to them. They sponsor countless organisations and events locally including Adare Tidy Towns; the local GAA club men’s and ladies’ sections, adults and juveniles; Shaun Trad and Adare soccer clubs – adults and underage; the local golf club – men’s and ladies; and they also supported the local Manor Fields playing park development.
Furthermore, the business ethos includes supporting as many local suppliers as possible: “As a store that is proud to be at the heart of the community, we have added 30 local businesses to our list of local suppliers in the last three years,” Ger confirms. “When we say local, we mean within 20 minutes of our village. We pride ourselves in not just Supporting local but also supporting our customers.
Ger is also cognisant of how all businesses need to be on top of their game in terms of delivering value for money in a hostile economic climate that has hit many households hard and, to this end, Garvey’s Centra Adare leave no stone unturned in giving customers the best deals possible:
“We are trying to bring the best fresh food experience to our store whilst at the same time offering huge value to all our customers,” the amiable store manager concludes. “We are very conscious of the cost of living challenges being faced by all of our customers and that’s why we Zone in on value as well as quality, choice and service.”
Garvey’s Centra,
Main Street,
Adare,
County Limerick.
Tel: 061 396211
Email: [email protected]
First published in Grocery & Retail Ireland magazine Vol 2 No 2, Winter 2023/24
