Superquinn to become SuperValu

April O Neill

Miss Lockhart wrote: »

Given that Superquinn is located in areas where people have access to all major retail brands, why is it so hard to believe that their customers have experienced those other brands (SuperValu included) and have decided they think Superquinn offers better quality and choice?

If you prefer another brand that's fair enough. But why can't you understand that others disagee and are not happy to lose their preferred choice or that SuperValu may be the replacement?

I haven't been in Superquinn, ever, so I don't comment on the products, apart from the sausages which I have tasted.

I'm just curious as to whether the poster has been in many, or indeed, any Supervalu stores. They vary greatly in quality.

What wrong with me asking? Why do you care?

dark crystal

Miss Lockhart wrote: »

Given that Superquinn is located in areas where people have access to all major retail brands, why is it so hard to believe that their customers have experienced those other brands (SuperValu included) and have decided they think Superquinn offers better quality and choice?

If you prefer another brand that's fair enough. But why can't you understand that others disagee and are not happy to lose their preferred choice or that SuperValu may be the replacement?

Indeed there seems to be a stange inverted snobbery apparant recently, which dictates that there must be something wrong with you if you don't think LIDL and Aldi produce is equal or superior to Tesco or Superquinn. Some of it is, but a lot of it isn't. Everyone's tastes are different, so there's no one supermarket that beats all the others. It all depends on what you prefer eating really (and of course, your budget!)

Miss Lockhart

April O Neill wrote: »

I haven't been in Superquinn, ever, so I don't comment on the products, apart from the sausages which I have tasted.

I'm just curious as to whether the poster has been in many, or indeed, any Supervalu stores. They vary greatly in quality.

What wrong with me asking? Why do you care?

Of course there's nothing wrong with you asking. I'm merely responding with my own question. I wasn't aware it was a private conversation.

Your comments about the sausages and about M&S just don't make sense to me. They seem to indicate that you think people making those choices are wrong. And since it's a subjective matter of personal preference I don't get it.

gline

April O Neill wrote: »

How many different Supervalu stores have you been in?

Admittedly only a handful, and the reason I never went back was the quality, the same with aldi/lidl/tesco/dunnes, I know each store in the same brand differs in quality to some degree, but I just didnt like the options in those other shops. SQ does all the "usual" brands you find everywehere, but also some nicer ones that I couldnt find anywhere else and their meat seems to be higher quality. I've shopped in all the major brands at one stage. A few years of going to Tesco, then moved on to lidl for 2 years (and dunnes and aldi on and off now and again), then tried superquinn and never looked back. They arent really more expensive than other shops, only if you buy the higher priced goods. If you go into SQ with €20, you can come out with pretty much the same range of items as you would anywhere else with that money, I shop on a very tight budget in SQ with no issues.

FlawedGenius

Deleted User wrote: »

I think losing the Superquinn name could prove detrimental to Supervalu because i for one wouldnt consider Supervalu a bigger name even despite the buyout.

They should definately distinguish it from normal sized Supervalu's and call it 'Supervalu Extra' or something because the shopping experience in a Supervalu just cannot be compared to the one in Superquinn and that is regardless of the figure at the end of your receipt. The Superquinn model in terms of shopping experience is far far superior

QuinnValu

April O Neill

Miss Lockhart wrote: »

Your comments about the sausages and about M&S just don't make sense to me. They seem to indicate that you think people making those choices are wrong. And since it's a subjective matter of personal preference I don't get it.

I don't think they're wrong really.

I think a lot of people are taken in by marketing and bright, shiny shops. There's a whole psychology behind it. The reason I bring up M&S products and SQ sausages is because people really do rave about these, and my experience is that they are very often nothing special.

Mint Sauce

April O Neill wrote: »

I don't think they're wrong really.

I think a lot of people are taken in by marketing and bright, shiny shops. There's a whole psychology behind it. The reason I bring up M&S products and SQ sausages is because people really do rave about these, and my experience is that they are very often nothing special.

I think there is a lot to be said for 'Tescos Finest Garlic and Herb'.

gline

April O Neill wrote: »

I don't think they're wrong really.

I think a lot of people are taken in by marketing and bright, shiny shops. There's a whole psychology behind it. The reason I bring up M&S products and SQ sausages is because people really do rave about these, and my experience is that they are very often nothing special.

Have to agree with SQ sausages, I dont find them all that, they dont seem to be 90+% pork, like some other brands you can get, though this is just an opinion.

Miss Lockhart

April O Neill wrote: »

I don't think they're wrong really.

I think a lot of people are taken in by marketing and bright, shiny shops. There's a whole psychology behind it. The reason I bring up M&S products and SQ sausages is because people really do rave about these, and my experience is that they are very often nothing special.

But your experience is irrelevant to their preference. Your opinion on the product is different, but theirs is not wrong.

Your implication is that those who prefer Superquinn or M&S or Waitrose or whatever are merely taken in by marketing, that their taste buds are deceived. Where as your view of specialist butcher sausages as superior is the real truth.

Capt'n Midnight

Ruubot2 wrote: »

Yep, it was referred to as Super Crazy Prices as well. Miss the Yellow brand. Everything in our house was yellow brand at one time.

I can remember being a student and the choice was between yellow pack rice or bags of spuds

in them days spuds were unwashed and put in paper bags and the last 10% of the bag was always muck , stones and rotten potatoes

and the yellow pack rice was boil it up, simmer, stir once , simmer and done

Capt'n Midnight

phasers wrote: »

The Supervalu in Palmerstown is lovely, if they do the Superquinns like that then they'll be grand.

There's a huge variation in the quality of Supervalus around the country, I think they're franchises so they can be completely ****e or really brilliant.

That's a big IF, and even then that Supervalu is a lot smaller and has a much smaller range than a typical Superquinn.

Superquinn has a very good brand image amongst it's customers and if there is any perception of a lowering of standards then they could easily loose those customers to nearby competitors.


A big problem is that supervalu doesn't have a lot of it's stores in Superquinn areas. http://supervalu.ie/store-locator/

Good in that they are complementary
Bad is that they are usually in very different demographic areas with all that entails.

Palmerstown fair enough,
but the next ones are in Rowlagh and four around Tallaght and my impression of a typical "only shops at Superquinn" shopper is that they wouldn't be caught dead in those places or at least wouldn't risk their car or personal safety. Or head north on the M50 and the next one is in Ballymun

, there's one on Aston Quay that's tiny and priced for location

There's one off Ballyroan Road, it's OK but nothing special, I hadn't realised it was a SuperValu until I looked up the map (all of those small supermarket centra types are the same to me, they all match prices but don't stock any of the cheaper brands and even though everyone buys fruit and veg in the same markets they charge double ) and I've no idea what the one in Leixlip is like.

RustyNut

Miss Lockhart wrote: »

Given that Superquinn is located in areas where people have access to all major retail brands, why is it so hard to believe that their customers have experienced those other brands (SuperValu included) and have decided they think Superquinn offers better quality and choice?

If you prefer another brand that's fair enough. But why can't you understand that others disagee and are not happy to lose their preferred choice or that SuperValu may be the replacement?

Superquinn might well have offered a pleasant shopping experiance where you could purchase ostrich steaks yummy sausages and some of the best bread in the country. There was allways a young lad/lass to carry the bags to the car for the senior shoppers and all the other nicetys but at the end of the day they ended up in the hands of the receivers.

If it wasn't for Musgraves taking them out of receivership they would all be gone, all the stores, all the jobs and all the fancy shmancy products that they couldn't make pay.

The customer voted with their money and Superquinn just couldn't cut it.

April O Neill

Miss Lockhart wrote: »

But your experience is irrelevant to their preference. Your opinion on the product is different, but theirs is not wrong.

Your implication is that those who prefer Superquinn or M&S or Waitrose or whatever are merely taken in by marketing, that their taste buds are deceived. Where as your view of specialist butcher sausages as superior is the real truth.

Yeah, that about sums it up. I can't prove it of course, it's my own view but that's how I feel about it. There ya go!

April O Neill

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

and the yellow pack rice was boil it up, simmer, stir once , simmer and done

That sounds sweet! Rice is rice, after all.

Miss Lockhart

RustyNut wrote: »

Superquinn might well have offered a pleasant shopping experiance where you could purchase ostrich steaks yummy sausages and some of the best bread in the country. There was allways a young lad/lass to carry the bags to the car for the senior shoppers and all the other nicetys but at the end of the day they ended up in the hands of the receivers.

If it wasn't for Musgraves taking them out of receivership they would all be gone, all the stores, all the jobs and all the fancy shmancy products that they couldn't make pay.

The customer voted with their money and Superquinn just couldn't cut it.

None of that changes the disappointment being expressed by current SQ customers on this thread. I don't really see how it's relevant in that context.

studiorat

Just back from the local Supervalue. Chatting to the nice lady at the checkout. She tells me M&S are laying off 180 staff.

What's more is that herself and her sister often shop in M&S and the food is "devine"

Apparently the name is being changed to Supervalue.

RustyNut

Miss Lockhart wrote: »

None of that changes the disappointment being expressed by current SQ customers on this thread. I don't really see how it's relevant in that context.

I take your point on the disappointment and I get it personally as anytime I was forced to do the family shop the only place I would go was SQ walkinstown and probably still will.

If the stores are kept inhouse with Musgraves and not sold off to franchisees then they will at least match the other big multiples for quality and value.

I will miss the SQ experiance but it was unsustainable.

icdg

It's pretty much the same thing that happened with their previous big acquisitions, L&N and Wellworths (in the North). A period of transition, followed by full conversion to the SuperValu fascia.

Franchising the stores out usually comes next. It's worth remembering tht while SuperValu has everyone convinced its a multiple like Tesco or Dunnes, in reality it's got more in common with Spar or Londis and exists to provide a captive customer basis to the wholesale side of Musgrave. In Newcastlewest in Limerick there used to be a situation where there were two SuperValus almost across the road from each other and a big Centra not too far away. Different franchisees, of course.

Fishrman

RustyNut wrote: »

I take your point on the disappointment and I get it personally....

I will miss the SQ experiance but it was unsustainable.

Well said.

Its like the pub with the free beer - people like it but it ultimately it is doomed to fail no matter what the punters say!

Cienciano

Beruthiel wrote: »

Nobody does bread like Superquinn.

I think the quality of the superquin bakery went down when the Quinns sold it. Before that it was quality, after it became fairly shíte.

April O Neill wrote: »

:pac::D

With M&S, people are most definitely paying for the supposed prestige. They have a lot of really, really average products. Some most definitely inferior to the German supermarkets.

As for packaging and store layout, this adds a lot to the cost of items in stores. Aldi and Lidl cut costs here. But some people just can't get past it because supermarket shopping is a very visual thing too.

Couldn't agree more. The amount of times I've gotten stuff in M&S and it was fairly shíte is unreal. Fancy packaging catches me out all the time. Aldi specially selected stuff is easily as good or better than Marks stuff, and about half the price.

mojesius

There is nothing, nothing like a superquinn jam donut or a coffee slice with a cup of tae.

My granny (RIP) used to spend a fortune in the Blanch superquinn when we were kids on marble cake and chocolate eclairs

And the bread!

FizzleSticks

This post has been deleted.

oppenheimer1

whiskeyman wrote: »

Massively agree.
Superquinn, under the guidance of Fergal Quinn, was a real master class of retailing.
When quality and service mattered, they were a joy to experience.
They ultimately fell down on price, but I think a lot of this was perceived. Many times I could shop in SQ for less than Tesco... but I guess the likes of Aldi and Lidl hit them hard, along with customers changing their shopping habits.

No, what hit them hard was being bought out by a group that had no interest in retailing but property development.

oppenheimer1

anncoates wrote: »

It never fails to astound me how much snobbish value judgement is made between the often minuscule difference between goods from different supermarkets.

70% of our main grocery shopping is split between Aldi and Lidl, with the remainder in Tesco and three local wholesalers (Meat, Veg and Oriental) and we eat very well and have home cooked, healthy family meals every day.

Superquiinn sausage fetishism is always a good moron detection device: they're primary a badge of nostalgic, supposed class affinity rather than something you can find (that are just as good or better) for far cheaper elsewhere. It's like a domestic version of the mongs that get Tayto, Erin Soup, Lyons Tea and Calvita shipped over to England.

No one gets Lyons tea shipped to England, its Barrys. Lyons is just PG tips under another unilever brand.

The rebrand of Superquinn I think is a mistake, but it shows something about the way we shop in Ireland now. This and the M&S news today shows the premium end is being squeezed considerably. This along with the strengthening of an already national brand (and the associated marketing cost savings) is the reason its being dropped. I imagine many of the higher end products will eventually be dropped from the superquinn rosters following the full rebrand.

As for the overall quality of Supervalu, I have found it depends highly on the franchisee. There are some great shops, but there are some woeful ones too. It will be interesting if Musgraves run these Supervalus themselves as flagships for the franchisees to aspire to or will let them out or a mix of both.

Yellowblackbird

I still haven't got over H Williams closing.

I find the comments running down supervalue strange. Personally supervalue is my favourite place to shop. I'd have it ahead of dunnes and tesco especially for meat (I don't really rate aldi or lidl at all, I think they are totally over hyped for both quality and price except for a few very specific things). Supervalue's meat is a viable alternative to a butcher imo. They have fantastic steaks and in general all their meat is of a much higher standard than tesco especially but dunnes also. I also find they have better offers.

Some of the supervalues have excellent bakery's also.

Fr_Dougal

Well this changeover had better not bring riff-raff into the area!

Jimoslimos

marketty wrote: »

Two of the most expensive supermarkets in Ireland coming together to try and knock M&S off the top spot

M&S is way overrated (and overpriced)

Waitrose (if they ever set up in Ireland) FTW!

mohawk

Harlow Small Handrail wrote: »

I find the comments running down supervalue strange. Personally supervalue is my favourite place to shop. I'd have it well ahead of dunnes and tesco especially for meat (I don't really rate aldi or lidl at all, I think they are totally over hyped for both quality and price except for a few very specific things). Supervalue's meat is a viable alternative to a butcher imo. They have fantastic steaks and in general all their meat is of a much higher standard than tesco especially but dunnes also. I also find they have better offers.

Some of the supervalues have excellent bakery's also.

My biggest issue with Supervalu is that some stores are completely crap and others are amazing. Excluding the special offers the prices of products can differ between stores. Some Supervalus are much better value then others. Whereas Superquinn is Superquinn whether its located in Limerick or Blackrock.
Do agree that the meat is better then both Tesco and Dunnes.
The Supervalu near me only does the Cuisine de France stuff which is grand but Superquinn does some lovely crusty rolls which I prefer.

keith16

I don't understand why they are changing the name. They could easily retain the brand. As someone else said, there is probably a huge number of people who won't shop there any more even tho they buy the same over-rated crap (and end up throwing half of it out).