Supermac's is an Irish fast food restaurant chain first opened in 1978. The first restaurant was located in Ballinasloe, the largest town in County Galway in the West of Ireland. As of 2019 the chain consists of a total of 118 restaurants spread throughout Ireland and Northern Ireland. It operates a number of franchise outlets with many also privately owned. Supermac's serves an average of 320,000 customers per week and had annual revenues of €79.9 million and a profit of €7.4 million according to its 2013 closing report. Its head office is in the Ballybrit Business Park in Ballybrit, County Galway.
History
The first restaurant was opened in Ballinasloe, County Galway, in the West of Ireland, by Pat and Una McDonagh. , Supermac's is the largest Irish-owned quick service food chain. The franchise has over 100 outlets across the Republic and Northern Ireland. In June 2014, Supermac's opened its 100th store in the Barack Obama Plaza on the M7 Motorway. Supermac's also exclusively operates the Papa John's Pizza brand in Ireland as well as SuperSubs which offers a variety of subs, wraps and salads. SuperSubs is a replacement for the Quiznos franchise that Supermac's formerly held. The company employs over 4,000 people as of 2019.
Corporate overview
Name
The Restaurant was named together by locals and its owners: The founder, Pat McDonagh, earned the nickname ‘Supermac’ whilst playing Gaelic football for the Carmelite College in Moate. This then became the natural choice of name for his business, "Supermac’s"
International operations
Through Supermac's Ireland Ltd, Pat and Una McDonagh also own Claddagh Irish Pubs & Restaurants, a chain of eleven Irish-themed bars & restaurants operating in 8 Midwestern states in the United States. Supermac's is Ireland's largest indigenous quick service restaurant group with a policy of continued expansion and growth. Supermac's Holdings Ltd. has applied to trademark the Supermac's name in both Europe and Australia with plans to open branches in each jurisdiction following requests from residents in 15 cities around the world to do so. In 2013, the company further expanded its motor services business by developing the Tipperary Town Plaza and Mallow N20 Plaza on key national routes. The company opened another Plaza in Kiltullagh, Galway at the M6 Loughrea Junction in February 2016.
Hotels
The company has also expanded its hospitality business interests through the purchase and development of the Castletroy Park Hotel, Limerick, Loughrea Hotel & Spa, Galway and Charleville Park Hotel, Cork and The Killeshin Hotel, Portlaoise. and Castle Oaks House Hotel. in Limerick
Advertising
Supermac's initiated the "Bring them Home" campaign where they reunited families, whose relatives were living around the world, for Christmas. Between 2012 and 2013 Supermac's flew 43 people who had emigrated from Ireland during the economic recession to locations worldwide back to Ireland to be with their families and friends over the festive season. The campaign was promoted nationally on 2FM’s Tubridy Show and through RTÉ One’s The Late Late Show where the winners surprised their families by being reunited live on air during Christmas week. Winners travelled from Toronto, Chicago, Melbourne, Sydney and NYC. Supermac’s Times Square campaign appeared on Times Square, 7th Avenue, one of New York City’s most prominent buildings. The chain has been voted one of the "Top 10 Restaurants to try" by Fox News while USA Today voted Supermac's one of the "Top Foreign Chains we want to move Stateside".
Sponsorship
Supermac's sponsors arts, culture and sport within the communities it operates. Their association with Galway hurling is the longest running inter-county GAA sponsorship in the country, currently in its twenty fifth year. In 2013 a new deal was signed seeing both hurling and football in Galway sponsored by one organisation for the first time. The new deal includes sponsorship of Galway football and hurling across all age groups from under age through to minor, U21 and Senior. To date, Supermac's has invested over €2 million into Galway Hurling. The company also regularly engages with other sports sponsorships such as rugby, soccer, international rules football and horseracing. Other national Supermac's sponsorships include The Ray Foley Show Programme Sponsorship from 2010 to 2012. Through RTÉ 2FM the company sponsored The Will Leahy Show from 2012 to 2014. On an international level the restaurant chain sponsored the Volvo Ocean Race 2009 and 2012 during the Galway leg of the race. Supermac's was also a key sponsor of Cannonball Ireland in 2012 and 2014.
EU trademarks case
objected to Supermac's registration application to trademark its name and certain product names on the grounds that the names Supermac's and McDonald's are similar. In its submission McDonald's argued that the Supermac's name is visually similar to their trademark while Supermac's argue that they have traded alongside McDonald's in the Republic of Ireland for over 30 years without confusion. McDonald's won a partial victory, with the EU's Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market ruling that Supermac could trade under its own name in the EU, but it rejected Supermac's trademark applications for several items, including menu items. It said that consumers could "be confused as to whether Supermac’s is a new version of McDonald’s", given the almost identical products sold by both chains. In January 2019, the EUIPO ruled that certain trademarks owned by McDonald's, including BIG MAC, were to be revoked.
Charity
Supermac's has donated money to charities such as Trócaire and to local charities including Alan Kerrins African Projects. It has also hosted charity events in its outlets such as Today FM's Shave or Dye.
