Transforming communities, transforming lives

I wanted to develop a business that would help kick-start the regeneration of Kells as a vibrant place to live and work. Before we opened the new SuperValu in November 2007, a lot of Kells people were travelling outside town for their weekly shop. Since we’ve opened I feel we’ve curtailed a lot of unnecessary travel.

We’re all proud of the store we’ve created. We worked closely with Musgrave’s design team to create a shopping environment that’s spacious, open and clutter-free. But the design is equally important behind the scenes: attractive, good-sized cloakrooms and leisure areas for employees make for a happier team. And for me, having a strong, friendly, local team with links to the community is key to the success of my business.

We pride ourselves on keeping people informed - not just about special offers, but about what’s in season, sourcing and quality assurance. Customer choice is another big theme. Healthy options, organic and fair trade choices are all part of our offering. And, of course, there are locally supplied foods.

I’ve also made every effort to ensure SuperValu Kells is a very eco-friendly store, recycling waste heat and using solar energy to heat water – cutting both our costs and our carbon footprint in the process.