Renowned for consistently delivering the best quality fresh local produce, Garvey’s SuperValu Castleisland was crowned Ireland’s Most Creative Fresh Food Retailer at the 2023 National Grocery Retail Awards in November – a fitting denouement to a landmark calendar year for this fully-revamped, customer-focused store.
An award-winning supermarket that invariably offers unrivalled fresh produce, superb customer service and fantastic value, Garvey’s Supervalu Castleisland recently came up trumps at the National Grocery Retail Awards, seeing off a strong field to be named Ireland’s Most Creative Fresh Food Retailer.
It was certainly no fluke that Garvey’s SuperValu Castleisland reigned supreme in this prestigious category as fresh food is their passion … they pride themselves on offering customers the very best in locally-sourced fresh produce which is delivered to the store on a daily basis.
Garvey’s SuperValu Castleisland believe that fresh is always best! As a business that is very much at the heart of the community, they work hard to source incredibly fresh fruit and vegetables from farmers and food producers in the local areas.
Their success as a creative and innovative fresh food retailer has been achieved through the vision of a progressive management team, the skill and wholehearted commitment of all employees, unwavering dedication to achieving the highest standards and the invaluable ongoing support of the local communities they are so proud to serve.
Winning a coveted National Grocery Retail Award was the icing on the cake of another landmark year for Garvey’s SuperValu Castleisland, who in mid-August completed a massive renovation of their busy Church Street store. Following a €3m investment, the completely revamped supermarket offers an extended range of top-quality produce including reimagined fresh food departments, delicatessen, dry age beef and a premium selection of wines and spirits.
Meanwhile, in-store sustainability initiatives, such as the installation of 400 solar panels, will result in a 20 per cent reduction in energy consumption and a huge reduction in Garvey’s SuperValu Castleisland’s carbon footprint.
Store manager Seamus O’Connor, who has been working for the industry-leading Garvey Group for 23 years and counting, was naturally delighted with Garvey’s SuperValu Castleisland’s success at the 2023 National Grocery Retail Awards:
“It was super to get that national recognition,” he confirms. “We decided to enter these awards after completing the major revamp last summer and it was absolutely massive for us to win in that particular category as we place a huge emphasis on fresh food in the store and are very proud of our efforts in that area. We were also shortlisted for the Best Meat Offering and Best Bakery Offering awards and that shows the level of consistency we are achieving when it comes to preparing and serving fresh food to our customers.”
In previous years, Garvey’s SuperValu Castleisland have also been finalists in the Fruit & Veg and Meat categories. “The excellence and consistency have always been there and this reflects the standards we operate at,” Seamus continues. “With the revamp, we placed a massive emphasis on fresh food because that’s what customers want. We have flipped and transformed the entire shop and the results have been dramatic. We’ve experienced a 40 per cent growth in deli and 35 per cent growth in bakery, for example, as well as putting in a hot food bar, where we serve food fresh from our in-house kitchen.
“We cater for everyone, from the schoolkids coming in every weekday morning to the person with a trolley doing the weekly shop or the customer who pops in with a basket in the evening.”
In the modern-day grocery retail environment, most shoppers are looking for fresh food on the go. “The supermarket landscape has changed and people want fast and fresh food,” says Seamus. “Fresh fish is in big demand and we’ve seen a 60 per cent increase in our fishmongers, with convenient offerings such as fresh fish in the bag ready to go straight into the oven. We always move with our customers and they want fresh and healthy food on the go, be that our dry age beef (we’re one of the only supermarkets in Kerry to do that), added-value meat, added-value fish, deli foods, fruit and veg, herbs – we listen to customers, whatever they want, we supply it.”
Central to the stores’ success at the National Grocery Retail Awards was the wonderful input of the exceptional, experienced and customer-focused team at Garvey’s SuperValu Castleisland, currently comprising no fewer than 85 full-time staff.
“It’s huge recognition for the team and they deserve it,” enthuses the personable store manager. “They bring vast experience to the store. Our fruit and veg chargehand has been here for 25 years, the deli manager for almost 30, the bakery manager for nearly 20 and the meat manager for over 20. You can’t buy that kind of experience and even in the back office and the staff out on the floor, many of them are here up to 20 years or more.
“We have an excellent working environment in the store and we are very lucky to have such a loyal and talented team. This award was great for the entire team as it covers so many areas – and it’s fair to say they excel in all of those.”
As part of the Garvey Group, it’s no real surprise that SuperValu Castleisland is such a modern, progressive and innovative supermarket. “In fairness to head office, they back up 100 per cent and encourage us to think outside the box and try new things. Before the revamp, we visited supermarkets in London, Amsterdam and Rotterdam to get ideas, which we could then put our own twist on.
“They are a great company to work with, very community-orientated, and they always encourage us to get involved in the community in every possible way. The store is one of the biggest employers in the town and we also sponsor all the local GAA clubs, are heavily involved in the local Tidy Towns and Chamber of Commerce and we sponsor the annual local basketball blitz, which is one of the biggest in the country.
“The fact that there is such a low turnover of staff speaks volumes for how supportive the senior management team of Kevin McCarthy and Jim Garvey are of everybody here. They are very open and supportive of whatever we are doing.”
Looking to the future, Seamus is confident that there is much more to come from the award-winning fresh food emporium that is Garvey’s SuperValu Castleisland: “The goal going forward is to keep learning,” he concludes. “Just because we have a nice shiny new store, that doesn’t make us the finished article … far from it. The work doesn’t stop there.
“We have to keep researching, learning, growing and looking at new areas. We’re very strong on staff innovation and we always encourage them to come forward with new ideas. There’s huge ownership from the staff and it’s their input that leads ultimately to happy customers.
“Our NPS [Net Promoter Score] is consistently very high – in the top ten in the country – and we always listen very closely to our customers and what their needs are. We’re very customer-orientated and sometimes the best ideas come from customers, so we value their suggestions and take them on board.”
The result is the consistent provision of value-added fresh produce, unbeatable service and levels of consumer convenience and comfort that simply cannot be beaten!
Garvey’s SuperValu Castleisland,
Church Street,
Castleisland,
County Kerry.
Tel: 066 714 2400
Email: [email protected]
Facebook: www.facebook.com/SupervaluCastleisland
Web: garveygroup.ie
First published in Grocery & Retail Ireland magazine Vol 3 No 1, Summer 2024
Garvey's SuperValu Castleisland
