- BWG Foods and MACE retailers to invest €19.5 million in store development
- New strategy and store design will help brand to target growth on the high street
Ireland’s longest serving convenience retail brand MACE has today announced plans to add 50 new stores to its nationwide network by 2020, leading to the creation of up to 700 new full and part-time jobs over the next three years.
More than €19 million will be invested in store development by MACE owner and operator, BWG Foods, together with its retailers for the opening of new stores along with high-spec refurbishments.
The announcement comes as the brand launches a new three year strategy and new store design to target growth on the high street, in neighbourhoods and on forecourts.
Recently appointed MACE Sales Director, Daniel O’Connell said “MACE has an extremely loyal customer base and this was a key factor in the brand outperforming the market during the recession. Our new strategy and store design gives us a strong platform to grow the business and leverage new consumer trends that are emerging in the convenience retailing market including the introduction of more creative shopping experiences and a strengthened focus on quality fresh foods.”
The strategy focuses on six key pillars, with a particular emphasis on fresh food and an expanded range. MACE has enhanced its own in-house departmental food offerings with the launch of new concepts including the new MACE ‘for food’s sake’ Deli, Asian Street Food and ‘I Scream’, its very own ice-cream proposition.
Meanwhile, a brand new store design has been developed and will be rolled out across the MACE estate, following a pilot store launch in Headford, Galway this week.
“The MACE store design has been developed to mirror what we are trying to achieve with our new strategy and is based on extensive consumer research and retailer feedback. Importantly, the new design allows each store to customise its range and layout to specifically cater for its individual customer base which we believe is a sophisticated approach providing huge competitor advantage.”
MACE is Ireland’s longest serving convenience retail brand, having opened its first store in 1960. There are currently 165 MACE stores across the country, providing employment for 2,500 people locally.
