Superquinn chairman Simon Burke says that if the upmarket grocery chain was doing its job properly, Irish people would have no need to shop for food in the likes of Marks & Spencer and Donnybrook Fair.
Once a totem pole for quality and excellence, the grocer got sucked into a punishing price war in the final years of Feargal Quinn's ownership, before being sold to Select Retail Holdings in August 2005 for about €420 million.
"One of the key things we've been lacking was a premium range of quality products," Burke says. That piece of the jigsaw has just fallen into place with the grocer launching a premium-end range of fresh meats and other products last week, as part of a €500,000 investment.
Called SQ (superior quality), the range will consist of about 100 products and will expand to about 500 over time if successful. Burke says it could account for 1 per cent of overall sales, or about €6 million a year, which he hopes will be incremental to its existing business.
It will include everything from extra tender lamb, pre-prepared fish and corn-fed chicken to fresh strawberries, posh cheesecake and other sweet goodies, and fancy flowers.
About 90 per cent of the goods will be sourced in Ireland and the range will be about 25 per cent dearer than existing branded stock.
It's a brave move for a group that is already perceived as being the most expensive operator in the grocery sector and one with a market share of just 8 per cent, roughly one-third that of Tesco and Dunnes Stores.
Burke, however, is confident that the quality of the products will justify the price tags. "If people tell us that it's overpriced then we will do something about it," he says.
He also stresses that Superquinn competes well on prices for the major branded goods with its main rivals. "All the straws in the wind suggest that things are priced at good value now."
Since taking over Superquinn from Feargal Quinn and family, Burke and his consortium of investors, who include property developers Bernard McNamara and Jerry O'Reilly, have slowly turned the company around.
Sales are once again growing after three consecutive years of decline before the takeover. Revenues this year will be about €600 million. It has also returned to profitability, although Burke declines to quantify this.
Recent market share data shows that its sales are growing at a faster pace than the overall market. These are positive straws in the wind.
Its loyalty card scheme has been revamped. A handful of its larger stores have been given a much-needed face-lift, including Blanchardstown, Lucan, Sutton and Ballinteer.
Blackrock and Sundrive in Dublin are next on the list.
"By the end of the year, the flagship stores in the group will all have been refurbished," he says.
A pipeline of new stores is also set to flow. To date, Burke has managed to open just one new outlet - in May at Rathborne in west Dublin.
In 2008, however, he expects to open in the well-heeled south Dublin suburbs of Ranelagh and Rathgar. Openings are also planned for Bray, Shankill and Carrickmines and replacement stores will be built in Finglas, Naas and Walkinstown. Another half a dozen or so are under active negotiation and his plan is to develop the network from 22 to 35 over the next few years.
In May, Select Retail Holdings offloaded six stores to Friends First for €142.5 million in a sale and leaseback deal. The money was used to pay down debt and for future site acquisitions.
Superquinn pitches itself at the urban shopper and its focus will remain on the greater Dublin area. The only exception would be Cork and Galway cities, where Burke would like to see Superquinn represented.
Burke admits that not all of his current shops are performing to plan. Clonmel and Dundalk were both on his original "sick list" and have been restructured in an attempt to change their fortunes.
Burke has a reputation as a successful corporate troubleshooter, having turned around Virgin Megastores and toy retailer Hamleys in Britain.
Looking to the future, Burke is keen to scotch the notion that Select Retail Holdings is planning to milk the investment over a five-year period and then flip it on to another player.
With Superquinn owning a large number of valuable properties, the perceived wisdom at the time of the takeover was that these assets would be sold or sweated to the maximum.
Save for the sale of the properties to Friends First, that scenario has yet to materialise. Burke's moves in the meantime also suggest that its backers see value in the grocery chain.
"There's no agenda and there have been no discussions of that at all," he says. "I'm genuinely trying to do things that are sustainable into the long term.
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