Dunnes Stores
Dunnes Stores is an Irish multinational retail chain that primarily sells food, clothes and household wares.
In addition to its main customer base in Ireland, the chain also has operations in Spain, and formerly in England and Scotland. The format of the chain's stores include a grocery supermarket operating alongside a clothing/textiles store. The grocery operation only operates in Irish stores and some Northern Irish stores, although some limited grocery ranges can be found in the Spanish stores. However some stores contain only textiles, while some contain only a supermarket. Dunnes Stores' original own brand of groceries was sold under the St Bernard brand for many years, becoming an Irish household name, but was rebranded as "My Family Favourites" in 2013.
History
1940s–1950s
began his retail career as an employee at a drapers shop in Cork, Ireland, in the 1940s. In 1943, however, Dunne left that shop to set up his own store just across the street. Dunne quickly set out to revolutionize the Irish retail market, and in 1944 opened a new store, on St Patrick's Street in Cork, which promised "Better Value" by offering goods at pre-war prices.Through the end of the 1950s, Dunne established stores in Wexford, Waterford, Limerick and Dublin. Then, in 1963, Dunne grouped his growing number of stores under a new corporate structure, Dunnes Holding Company, which took over ownership of the entire operation. Dunne also set up a family trust at the same time, in part to ensure that the company remained family controlled.
1960s–1970s
Dunnes continued to expand during the 1960s, and in the middle of the decade sparked a new revolution in the Irish retail scene. Until then, the company's stores had operated, like the country's retail sector in general, in Ireland's city centre. In 1966, however, Dunnes opened a store at Cornelscourt in what was then Ireland's first out-of-town shopping centre. Although scoffed at by experts, who believed the company would fail at the new location, the Cornelscourt site was not only a success, but also became one of the company's flagship stores.By the end of the 1960s, Dunnes operated 17 stores across Ireland. The company remained intensely private and, despite an active advertising schedule, wary of publicity. As Ben Dunne explained, in what the Times described as a rare interview in 1971, "If there is one thing I hate it is publicity. No one is allowed to write about Ben Dunne. The people I do not like are the people who talk about what they have done and the people who talk about what they are going to do." In that same interview, Dunne reaffirmed his commitment to maintaining family control of his business, saying: "Public companies are like the government. The government has the privilege of spending money foolishly and public companies are no better."
Dunnes Stores concentrated instead on expanding its growing retail empire. By the end of the 1970s, the company had built up a network of more than 60 stores. It also had moved beyond the Republic of Ireland, adding its first stores in Northern Ireland.
1980s–1990s
By the beginning of the 1980s, the company operated seven Northern Ireland stores. By then, too, Dunnes had made a move onto the European continent, opening a store in Spain, on that country's Costa del Sol, in 1980. The success of that venture led the company to begin construction on its second Spain store the following year, which opened in Marbella.By 1981, Dunnes Stores represented 66 locations, producing estimated sales revenues of some £200 million. Dunne, by then in his 70s, had succeeded in building his company into one of Ireland's top ten firms. Dunne also had been joined by his five children, Frank, Margaret, Teresa, Elizabeth, and, especially, youngest son Bernard Dunne, Jr. The company became swept up in political events in that year when Ben Dunne, Jr., was kidnapped and held for several days by the IRA.
Ben Dunne died of a heart attack in 1983. Although the business was nominally handed to all five of his children, most of whom played an active role in the company's operations, actual leadership of the company became the responsibility of his son Ben.
Ben Dunne's tenure as leader of the family business came to an end in 1992, when he was arrested for cocaine possession in a Florida hotel. The resulting scandal led the other family members to oust their brother, resulting in a somewhat public battle among the otherwise publicity-shy family. In the end, the company paid IR£100 million to buy out Ben Dunne's share of the business. The family faced other tragedies, as sisters Teresa and Elizabeth both died at relatively young ages.
In the meantime, the alleged unorthodoxy of Ben Dunne's business practices, which included funneling Dunnes Stores funds into the offshore bank accounts of a number of Ireland's political figures, brought the company once again into the limelight in the late 1990s. The resulting political scandal had an additional consequence for the very private company, when the government announced in 1997 that it would appoint an authorized officer to inquire into the company's business practices under Ben Dunne.
Dunnes faced other difficulties as well during the decade. British retail giant Tesco had entered the Irish market and gained steadily, capturing the number one retail spot away from Dunnes. At the same time, a new breed of deep-discount retailer, led by Germany's Aldi and Lidl chains, had entered Ireland, placing Dunnes' own discount formula under pressure.
2000s–2020
By the start of the 2000s, Dunnes' network had grown to more than 120 stores. In 2000, it launched a new store format, adapting the American-style convenience store concept for the Dublin market. By 2001, the company had opened a second store featuring the smaller format and had registered a new subsidiary name, Better Value Conveniently Yours Ltd., in what some observers saw as the company's intent on expanding its convenience store operations. In the meantime, Dunnes continued to open new stores, bringing its total to 125 stores. After entering Scotland for the first time in 2000, the company announced its intention to boost the number of British Dunnes stores by up to 25 by 2005.The company was said to have held buyout talks in 2000 with U.S. retail giant Wal-Mart, which had expressed an interest in entering Ireland. The Dunne family, however, decided to retain control of their business.
In 2003, the Irish government at last appointed an authorized officer to look into Dunnes Stores' records. While the results of that investigation were to remain private, it nonetheless represented a new intrusion for the company's carefully guarded privacy. That same desire for privacy had reportedly led the company to quash a story slated to appear about Dunnes Stores in the Irish Independent, which allegedly chose not to run the story in order to safeguard the yearly €1.6 million in advertising revenues provided by Dunnes Stores.
In 2007, the company opened a new flagship store in Henry Street, Dublin. Also in 2007, architect Arthur Gibney & Partners designed a large commercial development on South Great George’s Street, Dublin as Headquarters for Dunnes Stores, which entailed the removal of some buildings and facade retention of several others, including the former Dunlop Factory on Stephen Street, and the Connolly Shoes building. The building has a dramatic glass corner atrium leading to an internal street through the development. The facade to George’s Street respects existing building heights.
In recent years, Dunnes Stores has continued to consistently maintain a top-three market share in Ireland's grocery market, alongside SuperValu and Tesco. Combined, these three supermarket chains account for approximately 70% of Ireland's grocery market.
The company owns 50% of the Asian fast food chain, Neon.
In spring 2018, Dunnes Stores confirmed the closure of all stores in Britain.
In 2018, Dunnes Stores commenced with a number of revamps and expansions on some of its stores with some, such as in Bishopstown and Ballyvolane in Cork and in a number of stores in Dublin including Donaghmede, Blanchardstown and Swords, all these being quite substantial multi-million-euro expansions.
2019 saw the openening of new stores in Naas, Ilac Centre and the refurbishment of stores in Jetland and Briarhill. Also in 2019 Dunnes Stores celebrated 75 years of business.
Dunnes Stores opened their first Beauty Department in their Jetland Store ‘Dunnes Beauty’.
Dunnes Stores have been voted Ireland’s Number 1 supermarket each month for 2019, making them Ireland’s most popular supermarket. This continues on in 2020 with Dunnes Stores still being Ireland’s most popular supermarket. Dunnes Stores have continued with their popular voucher system in Ireland, “Shop & Save”, giving you €10 for every €50 you spend on groceries in their supermarkets. This scheme is extremely popular with Irish consumers leading to Dunnes maintaining a strong and loyal relationship with their customers.
In larger Dunnes Stores there usually consists of one of the following cafes: Cafe Sol, Dunnes Stores Cafe or Baxter & Greene Market Cafe.
In the recently refurbished Dunnes Stores supermarkets there now contains a number of concessions including James Whelan Butchers, Sheridan’s Cheesemongers and Baxter & Greene Markets Delis.
The main domestic competitors in the supermarket business are Tesco, SuperValu, Lidl and Aldi.
In clothing, their rivals include Penneys, Marks and Spencer and Debenhams.
Dunnes collaborate for many clothing/home wares collections from a number of Irish designers such as Paul Costelloe, Padraic Harrington, Carolyn Donnelly, Lennon Courtney and new clothing from Paul Galvin.
They also sell in house clothings brands such as Savida and Gallery, along with their own Dunnes Stores brand of clothing.
In March 2020, Dunnes Stores introduced priority shopping for the elderly and vulnerable between 11am and 1pm, in response to the high volume of customer traffic in the mornings, a result from the COVID-19 pandemic. Dunnes Stores also implement a strict social distancing policy in all stores.