‘Covid taught us the local shop is where it’s at’: Welcome in Cork for Centra expansion plans 

CONVENIENCE store chain Centra, part of the Cork-headquartered Musgrave Group, has announced a €23m investment in its store expansion programme.

The investment will see it grow its nationwide presence with the opening of 18 stores, creating at least 468 new jobs and bringing the total employment figure at Centra to over 12,000.

The retailer announced that its 2022 sales surpassed €1.98bn for the first time across 167 million consumer transactions, and added that the brand has demonstrated strong resilience in the face of the ever-increasing economic challenges, which has resulted in a 17% increase in sales compared to 2019, the last non-Covid-19 impacted retail year.

Cork Business Association president Kevin Herlihy, who also co-owns the Herlihy Centra Group which runs seven Centra stores in Cork, welcomed the investment news and highlighted the retailer’s strong ties with local suppliers.

“Their sales are close to €2bn now for the first time ever,” said Mr Herlihy. 

“The brand is strong and, as a retailer I am delighted to be working in partnership with them.

“They are very much focused on buying local. If Covid taught us anything, it is really that the local shop is where it’s at. We got a lot of customers back into our stores during Covid. We’ve managed to hold on to a lot of those customers.”

Centra reported the cost-of-living crisis has had an affect on shopping trends. The retailer saw demand for its own-brand range increase significantly, with sales growing by 10.3%.

“At Centra, we strive to deliver the best value and exceptional quality Irish products to customers,” managing director Ian Allen said.

“We are also cognisant that these are challenging times, with increased living costs and rising inflation,” he said. “We’re continuously adapting to meet our customers’ needs and I would like to thank them for their loyalty, as well as our retail partners in every community across Ireland for the role they have played in delivering this relentless value and service.”

The year ahead is not without its challenges, Mr Herlihy agreed, with high inflation, a shortage of labour, and a cost-of-living crisis impacting on consumer confidence.

“We’ll face it head-on, in partnership with Musgrave and Centra,” he said. “I think it’s a very positive outlook.”

“The big thing with Musgraves and Centra is that their whole sustainability strategy is really working and it’s having a great effect on future generations when we’re all long gone." 

Centra also announced that it will refurbish 35 existing stores this year. Yesterday’s announcement comes on top of the €25m Centra spent last year upgrading 33 of its stores.