BWG Foods

Last updated

BWG Foods UC is an Irish wholesaler and retail grocery franchise operator.

Contents

BWG is the second largest wholesaler in Ireland in terms of sales, after Musgrave Group, with sales of over €1.7 billion annually. [1] [2] It used to be owned by a consortium run by Leo Crawford, John O'Donnell and John Clohessy. In 2015, SPAR's franchise in South Africa acquired an 80% stake in BWG for €55 million, in 2021 they gained full ownership of BWG. [3] The company head office is based in Tallaght, Dublin, Ireland. [4]

History

EDL, a wholesale buying group applied to SPAR to operate the symbol in the Republic of Ireland. SPAR rejected this offer citing inadequate warehousing facilities and that the group had too many members in order to operate the symbol efficiently.

In 1963 a group of wholesalers broke from EDL and formed a consortium, P. Barrett and Sons Ltd, D. Tyndall and Sons Ltd of Dublin and McNulty and O'Reilly Ltd of Bray merged to form Amalgamated Wholesalers Ltd (AWL), Maurice P. Daly Ltd and The Jamaica Banana of Cork merged to form Munster United Merchants Ltd (MUM), and Messrs Looney and Co. Ltd of Limerick, these firms organised the Spar franchise based on the provinces of Leinster, Munster & Connaught. In 1966, a fourth wholesaler, Western Wholesale, joined the consortium securing a National spread for the Spar business.

in 1973, the Brooks-Watson Group (BWG) was formed through the later merger of the 4 SPAR wholesalers in the Republic of Ireland. In 1984 BWG was sold to Irish Distillers. [5]

In 2000, BWG purchased the Mace franchise area in Munster owned by Vantage Wholesale, merging it with its existing franchise area in Leinster. [6]

As of 2002, BWG was owned by Pernod Ricard who had acquired the business as part of Irish Distillers, but offered it for sale as it was not core to their business. [7] BWG was sold via a management buyout financed by Electra Partners Europe for 220m euro. [8] The current owners bought out Electra in 2006 through a vehicle called Triode, with a value of 390m euro placed on the firm. [9] [10]

BWG bought Tolan's Foodservice based in Galway in July 2003, [11] [12] and renamed it "BWG Foodservice". Also in 2003, BWG sold its Bellevue cash & carry's in Edinburgh and Stirling, Scotland in October, 5 years after buying it. [13] The Northern Ireland subsidiary J&J Haslett, which held the franchise for Mace was sold in December 2003 via a management buy out. [14] [15] (Musgrave Group subsequently bought J&J Haslett).[ citation needed ] The Bargain Booze off-licence chain in the United Kingdom was sold in 2004. [16]

In 2008, BWG bought Mangan Bros Ltd a wholesaler based in Ennis, County Clare. With this purchase BWG took control of Mace franchise throughout Ireland. The business consisted of 8 cash and carries in the West of Ireland, and a distribution centre in Collooney in County Sligo supplying Mace stores. [17] [18] [19] BWG promptly closed the Collooney centre and integrated it into their Ballyshannon facility. [20] Seven Cash & Carry closures follow due to location overlaps and duplication, and all sites are now branded Value Centre.

As of September 2010, the company announced the closure of their warehouse in Ballyshannon, County Donegal, [21] with the business transferring into the centre at Walkinstown, Dublin.

In May 2012 BWG acquired Morris Bros of Convoy Donegal. Morris Bros operate a Distribution Centre that supply Gala stores and independent retailers in the north west of Ireland. [22] In June 2012 a new ambient Distribution Centre opened in Kilcarberry, Dublin with the aim of consolidating distribution of ambient goods to all Spar and Mace stores under one roof, including its Bonded warehouse. The new 240,000 sq ft centre resulted in the closure of the existing centres in Limerick and Walkinstown, and was expected to handle 26 million cases per year. [23] [24] BWG announced a partnership with Donnellys Fruit & Veg in August 2012. This saw a new separate distribution centre for chilled foods set up in Kilshane Cross, Dublin. The centre distributed fruit & veg, meats and other chilled products to all BWG's franchise stores nationwide. It affected BWG's Central billing business as a result.[ citation needed ]

in 2018 BWG Bought Midlands Wholesaler, 4 Aces Wholesale, with cash & carry outlets located in Portlaoise, Clonmel & Navan. a condition of sale was that BWG Foods was to become a member of the Gala Retail Wholesale Network. The sale was subject to approval by the Competition & Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC), with a number of binding conditions, resulting to the 4 Aces Cash & Carry Network being run separately to BWG's Existing Value Centre Business.

This acquisition was followed by further acquisitions of Gala Wholesale Members, Cox's Cash & Carry & Mccarricks Bros in 2022 and Tuffys Wholesale in 2023.

Notable Operations

Spar

It is the master franchise operator for the SPAR, Spar Express and EuroSpar brands in Ireland, with approximately 450 Spar stores. Spar Ireland reported €1.67 billion in retail sales in 2007. [25] [26] In Ireland Spar operates in-store franchises for Tim Hortons coffee, Insomnia Coffee Company, Kitsu noodles and Treehouse smoothies among others.

In the south-west of England BWG also own Appleby Westward Foods. This is a small regional SPAR wholesaler based in Saltash, Cornwall.

Mace

BWG holds the master franchise for the Mace chain of 230 stores in Ireland. Maxol and Mace also have an exclusive deal that sees most Maxol owned forecourt shops branded Mace.

Other operations

Newhill, BWG's retail subsidiary owns over 100 stores which are leased/rented to operators for an agreed percentage of turnover. [27] The stores trade as Spar and Mace.

BWG Foodservice

BWG Foodservice is a division which offers a full frozen/chill/ambient range aimed at the foodservice channel. The business was born from the purchase of Tolan foodservice and the main depot is still at the same site in Galway. A new site was opened at North Road, Dublin in 2007, and later a third in Cork. These sites are also Value Centres.

Value Centre

BWG owns Ireland's largest Cash & Carry chain, Value Centre, which has 22 branches nationwide.

Value Centre offer XL to its Value Centre customers as a franchise option. It is a more cost-effective way for retailers who are not suited to a full brand offering, like Spar, to get the benefits of franchise membership. They still receive the benefit of Central billing without the expense or requirements of larger franchises. Competitors include Gala Express operated by Stonehouse Wholesale, and Daytoday operated by Musgrave.

4 Aces Wholesale/Better Deal

Acquired by BWG Foods in 2018, the business forms part of the BWG Wholesale Division, and roughly 40 Gala in the Midlands, as well as independent retailers, food service, and bar trade customers

Tuffys Wholesale

Acquired by BWG in 2023, this is a delivered wholesale business based in the west of Ireland and supplies roughly 60 Gala Retail affiliated outlets, as well as independent retailers, food service, and bar trade customers

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wholesaling</span> Sale of goods or merchandise to retailers rather than end consumers

Wholesaling or distributing is the sale of goods or merchandise to retailers; to industrial, commercial, institutional or other professional business users; or to other wholesalers and related subordinated services. In general, it is the sale of goods in bulk to anyone, either a person or an organization, other than the end consumer of that merchandise. Wholesaling is buying goods in bulk quantity, usually directly from the manufacturer or source, at a discounted rate. The retailer then sells the goods to the end consumer at a higher price making a profit.

Musgrave Group Ltd. is an Irish food wholesaler, founded in Cork by the Musgrave brothers, Thomas and Stuart in 1876. It is currently Ireland's largest grocery distributor, with operations in Ireland and Spain with estimated annual sales of over €4 billion. The current CEO is Noel Keeley. Today, the company is still largely-owned by the Musgrave family.

In the Republic of Ireland, the retail sector provides one of the largest sources of employment in the economy, representing over 12% of the workforce. As of 2017, approximately 40,000 wholesale and retail businesses employed almost 280,000 people in Ireland, with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment reporting that 90% of these businesses were Irish-owned.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maxol</span> Irish oil company

The Maxol Group is an Irish oil company which serves all of Ireland, It was founded in 1920 and is part of McMullan Bros. Limited.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">McLane Company</span> American wholesale supply chain services company

McLane is an American wholesale supply chain services company that distributes products to convenience stores, discount retailers, wholesale clubs, drug stores, military bases, fast-food restaurants, and casual dining restaurants throughout the United States. It is also a wholesale distributor of distilled beverages in some parts of the country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cash and carry</span> Type of wholesale

Cash and carry is a type of operation within the wholesale sector.

Mace is a convenience shop symbol group operating as three separate entities with different ownerships in Great Britain, the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The shops are independently owned and join the groups, paying a fee for marketing and branding support and purchasing their stock from the brand owners.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eason & Son</span> Irish retail company

Eason Retail PLC, known as Easons or Eason, is an Irish retail company best known for selling books, stationery, cards, gifts, newspapers and magazines. Headquartered in Swords, County Dublin, it is the largest supplier of books, magazines, and newspapers in Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gala (supermarket)</span> Irish convenience store chain

Gala is a convenience shop chain in Ireland. Established in 1998, as of 2021 Gala had approximately 250 shops nationwide, all under franchise. The symbol group is supplied by a number of independent wholesalers which were formerly part of the National Wholesale group. In 2008, the brand recognised its tenth year in business. Gary Desmond is the chief executive officer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Palmer and Harvey</span> Former UK retail wholesaler

Palmer and Harvey plc was a UK-based wholesaler that serviced the multiples and convenience sectors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A. F. Blakemore</span>

A.F. Blakemore & Son Ltd is a food retail, wholesale and distribution company, established in 1917. A.F. Blakemore & Son Ltd is the largest SPAR distribution centre in the UK. The company's headquarters are in Willenhall, West Midlands, United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">L&F Jones</span> British company

L & F Jones Holdings Ltd is a company based in Westfield, Somerset, England, that includes a chain of convenience shops, a wholesale food business, and a Best Western PLUS hotel. The retail chain consists of twelve shops in Somerset, Wiltshire, Dorset, South Gloucestershire, and Bristol.

Metcash Limited is an Australian wholesaler and conglomerate company that distributes food, liquor and hardware. The company is headquartered in Macquarie Park, NSW.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nisbets</span> Multinational food-service company

Nisbets is multinational distributor to the food-service sector. The company develops, retails and distributes commercial kitchen equipment, catering supplies and other hospitality products and services to hotels, restaurants, bars, cafes, schools and colleges. Nisbets is majority owned by Bunzl.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bargain Booze</span> Chain of off-license tin the UK

Bargain Booze is a chain of off licence shops, that operates in the United Kingdom. Established in 1981 in Sandbach, it grew to 836 shops and established the Bargain Booze Select Convenience shop franchise.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Londis (Ireland)</span> Irish convenience store chain

Londis is a chain of convenience shop franchises operating in Ireland. The stores form a symbol group and are all owned on a franchise basis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alldays (supermarket)</span> Defunct British market

Alldays was a chain of convenience stores in the UK, with a high density of stores in the south-east of England and in Scotland during the 1990s.

Bestway Wholesale Holdings Limited is a British food and drink wholesale business, founded in 1976 by Sir Anwar Pervez.

References

  1. ↑ http://archives.tcm.ie/businesspost/2008/06/15/story33633.asp%5B‍%5D
  2. ↑ "Spar's parent BWG sees profits up 10pc". independent. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  3. ↑ Hancock, Ciaran. "Wholesale grocery group BWG posts annual sales of €1.3bn, a rise of 5%". The Irish Times. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  4. ↑ Warren. "Contact". www.bwg.ie. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  5. ↑ "Martin Rafferty obituary: Businessman who played role in Ireland's economic success". The Irish Times.
  6. ↑ "BWG Foods' dual purchase". independent. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  7. ↑ "Pernod Ricard begins BWG sale process". 12 March 2001.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  8. ↑ "BWG goes in buy-out for ?220m to Electra Partners". independent. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  9. ↑ "BWG chiefs in ?390m Spar buyout".
  10. ↑ "Electra backs BWG management buyout". RTÉ.ie . 18 July 2002.
  11. ↑ "BWG buys Galway's Tolan Foodservice".
  12. ↑ "BWG Foods buys Tolan Foodservice". 21 July 2003.
  13. ↑ "BWG sells Scottish Bellevue".
  14. ↑ "The Times & The Sunday Times". Archived from the original on 11 June 2011.
  15. ↑ "BWG sells Haslett to MBO team. | Goliath Business News". Archived from the original on 15 June 2011.
  16. ↑ "Bargain Booze bosses in buy-out". RTÉ.ie . 16 January 2006.
  17. ↑ "BWG-acquired Mangan Bros posts €5.5m pretax profit". The Irish Times .
  18. ↑ "The Irish Emigrant - Mangan brothers to net â'¬45m from sale of Ennis wholesale business". Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 9 August 2012.
  19. ↑ "Mangan Bros rack up pre-tax profits of €5.5m".
  20. ↑ "BWG confirms €40m cash-and-carry buy".
  21. ↑ "Fxcentre Breaking News". Archived from the original on 11 July 2011. Retrieved 31 August 2010.
  22. ↑ "BWG acquires retail and grocery rival Morris Brothers - The Irish Times - Fri, May 18, 2012". The Irish Times . Archived from the original on 18 May 2012.
  23. ↑ "BWG Foods' three-year €50m partnership with Donnelly's to create 21 j…". www.businessandleadership.com. Archived from the original on 18 January 2013. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
  24. ↑ "Newsletter - Retail Intelligence, March 20, 2013 - Mace To Open 100 New Stores By 2016". Archived from the original on 3 October 2018.
  25. ↑ http://archives.tcm.ie/businesspost/2008/06/15/story33633.asp%5B‍%5D
  26. ↑ "Spar Ireland's 2007 sales up by 16%". RTÉ.ie . 9 June 2008.
  27. ↑ "Pre-tax profits at 128 Spar shops increase to ?6m".
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.