Casey’s Londis Castlebar underlined its status as one of Ireland’s leading convenience stores by scooping the coveted Retail Team of the Year Award at the 2023 ShelfLife National Grocery Management Awards which took place at the Royal Marine Hotel in Dun Laoghaire on May 18 last.
Part of the Casey Retail Group which is celebrating 25 years in business, Casey’s Londis Castlebar has won numerous accolades in recent years, including the C-Store Best Food to Go Department 2017, C-Store Best Fresh & Chilled Retailer 2019, Forecourt & Convenience Retailer Best Food to Go 2019, C-Store Forecourt Retailer of the Year (Bronze) 2021, National Grocery Management Forecourt Delicatessen / Food to Go Manager of the Year 2022 and now National Grocery Management Retail Team of the Year.
The National Grocery Management Awards are Ireland’s premier scheme for recognising and honouring management excellence. To win one is a high point in the career of many of Ireland’s best performing managers from across a variety of categories and at various levels of career progression. This unique scheme is independently judged and seeks out best management practice among those who carry responsibility without ownership in the Irish retail sector.
“Our awards wall is testament to the high standards and achievements of our team over the years,” enthuses Casey’s Head of Foodservice Kathryn Maloney, who was the Forecourt Delicatessen / Food to Go Manager of the Year for 2022.
Store Manager Aiden Hennigan attributes Casey’s success to teamwork, attention to detail, strong leadership, efficiency, good communication and customer service among other things.
“We’re delighted with this award which reflects well on every member of our team,” he says.
“We empower our team to make their own decisions. They are our greatest asset and we value their options and feedback. We involve them in team meetings every week when we review the previous week and set out our goals for the week ahead. We review sales, waste, services and achievements. Everything is communicated clearly through a whiteboard, Zoom calls and WhatsApp groups on a daily basis.”
Aiden continues: “The customer is king and that’s why it’s so important that they are given eye contact and are acknowledged. Our team members enjoy an excellent relationship with our customers which is a big reason why they keep coming back.”
Initiatives such as ‘Free Food Friday’, which see Casey’s Londis Castlebar support the local community with deliveries of delicious Four Star Pizza, has helped to drive business outside of the store.
“We get a lot of business from factories, workplaces, schools and sports clubs by bringing the service to them. We also offer discounts to hospital staff, students, bus drivers and so on. As proud supporters of local produce and community groups, we sponsor the local GAA (Castlebar Mitchels), cycling, tennis and rugby clubs as well as LauraLynn, Candlelight and the Tidy Towns.
“It’s our way of giving something back,” continues Aiden, who has been with the Casey Retail Group for 23 years.
The Casey Retail Group was founded by Gerry Casey in 1998 with the opening of the Castlebar store under the Centra brand. Due to its success, further stores were opened in Ballina, Limerick, Galway, Newbridge and Balla, which is the latest addition. The Casey Retail Group employs 240 people in total, including 50 at its original store in Castlebar.
In 2017, the Group became part of the 100% Irish-owned Londis symbol group, with the business experiencing one of its most positive transformations to date. Its new store design model has not only given all stores a welcome new look and feel, but the innovative layout has improved the shopper experience. The stores are spacious, bright, well laid out and easy to shop in, with a strong emphasis on fresh foods.
One of the Group’s most notable innovations has been the development of The Kitchen at Casey’s. This is a new food service concept that provides an even better range of wholesome hot foods, salads and sandwiches which are all prepared and cooked in-store.
Changing to the Londis brand has enabled Casey’s to bring additional quality Irish franchises like Chopped and Bewleys to their customers to complement their own wholesome in-store offering. The recently revamped 5,000 sq. ft. Castlebar store boasts a Circle K filling station, Chopped, Deli, Carvery, Four Star Pizza, Bewleys, Off-licence, ATM, customer toilets as well as seating for 60 people indoors and 40 people outdoors.
The Castlebar forecourt alone sells approximately 3,000 dinner solutions a week across The Kitchen at Casey’s, Chopped and Four Star Pizza brands. This doesn’t include sides, meal deals, sandwiches or rolls.
As foodservice operators, Casey’s deliver a vast and varied range of breakfast, lunch, dinner, and food to go options under one roof, appealing to all ages and to all different tastes from 6am to 12 midnight on weekdays (Saturday and Sunday opening hours are 7am to 12 midnight). Through their energetic, passionate people and market-leading brands, they aim to exceed their customers’ expectations with friendly, professional customer service.
The Casey’s Retail Group prides itself on strong commercial partnerships with BWG Foods, Aryzta Foods, Chopped, Four Star Pizza, Bewleys and Supermacs who share its vision and work closely with the business on all aspects of achieving a shared goal. The Ballina and Limerick stores are home to the ever-popular Supermacs franchise.
As Casey’s Londis Castlebar continues to go from strength to strength, the store would like to take this opportunity to thank their customers and suppliers for their continued support as well as their staff for their hard work, dedication and expertise.
Here’s to the next 25 years of one of Ireland’s most successful retail groups!
Casey’s Londis Castlebar
Knockcroghery,
Castlebar,
Co. Mayo.
Telephone: 094 902 5844
Email: [email protected]
First published in Grocery & Retail Ireland magazine Vol 2 No 1, Summer 2023
