BWG Foods

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

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 later years, The Spar Group (TSG) of South Africa acquired an 80% stake in BWG in 2015 for €55 million. In 2021 TSG gained full control over BWG and owns 100% thereof.[3] The company head office is based in Tallaght, Dublin, Ireland.[4]

History

In 2000, BWG purchased the Mace franchise area in Munster owned by Vantage Wholesale, merging it with its existing franchise area in Leinster.[5]

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.[6] BWG was sold via a management buyout financed by Electra Partners Europe for 220m euro.[7] The current owners bought out Electra in 2006 through a vehicle called Triode, with a value of 390m euro placed on the firm.[8][9]

BWG bought Tolan's Foodservice based in Galway in July 2003,[10][11] 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.[12] The Northern Ireland subsidiary J&J Haslett, which held the franchise for Mace was sold in December 2003 via a management buy out.[13][14] (Musgrave Group subsequently bought J&J Haslett). The Bargain Booze off-licence chain in the United Kingdom was sold in 2004.[15]

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.[16][17][18] BWG promptly closed the Collooney centre and integrated it into their Ballyshannon facility.[19] 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,[20] 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.[21] 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.[22][23] 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.

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.[24][25] 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.[26] 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.

See also

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. "BWG Foods' dual purchase". independent. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  6. "Pernod Ricard begins BWG sale process". 12 March 2001. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  7. "BWG goes in buy-out for ?220m to Electra Partners". independent. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  8. "BWG chiefs in ?390m Spar buyout".
  9. "Electra backs BWG management buyout". RTÉ.ie. 18 July 2002.
  10. "BWG buys Galway's Tolan Foodservice".
  11. "BWG Foods buys Tolan Foodservice". 21 July 2003.
  12. "BWG sells Scottish Bellevue".
  13. "The Times & The Sunday Times".
  14. "BWG sells Haslett to MBO team. | Goliath Business News". Archived from the original on 15 June 2011.
  15. "Bargain Booze bosses in buy-out". RTÉ.ie. 16 January 2006.
  16. "BWG-acquired Mangan Bros posts €5.5m pretax profit". The Irish Times.
  17. "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.
  18. "Mangan Bros rack up pre-tax profits of €5.5m".
  19. "BWG confirms €40m cash-and-carry buy".
  20. "Fxcentre Breaking News". Archived from the original on 11 July 2011. Retrieved 31 August 2010.
  21. "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.
  22. "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.
  23. "Newsletter - Retail Intelligence, March 20, 2013 - Mace To Open 100 New Stores By 2016". Archived from the original on 3 October 2018.
  24. http://archives.tcm.ie/businesspost/2008/06/15/story33633.asp%5B%5D
  25. "Spar Ireland's 2007 sales up by 16%". RTÉ.ie. 9 June 2008.
  26. "Pre-tax profits at 128 Spar shops increase to ?6m".
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