The west’s awake

Value Centre Ennis is situated on the Kilrush Road just eight minutes from John McMahon’s home. McMahon has lived there all his life and has been working in Value Centre Ennis for 40 years, even before he left school so there’s not much he doesn’t know about the business and the area. A proud Clare man is how he describes himself and this is starkly evident as he speaks about his love for the banner county and his passion for the business itself.

“I began here as a young guy back in 1982,” he explains. “I was in St Flannan’s College and I got a summer job here. I went back to school to do my Leaving Cert and I’m here ever since. I’ll be here 40 years in June. I’ve seen a lot of changes in that time.” Despite his longevity in the role there are two other members of staff, Michael Lyons and John McCarty who have worked in this business for 50 years so they must be doing something right. “People enjoy working here,” he says. “I enjoy meeting people and I’m a people person. I have an office downstairs so I can mix easily with the customers. Most of the people working here are outgoing types and that’s what we look for when we are hiring. There are a lot of people here 30 years plus and we are very fortunate to have such a good team.” Currently there are 40 people employed between pickers, replenishers, drivers and part-timers.

Value Centre Ennis is situated on the ring road around Ennis so customers enjoy easy access to the cash and carry from anywhere in the county When McMahon started working here it was just 12,000sq feet. In the early 80s it increased in size to about 30,000sq ft and since the recent refurbishment it now stands at 55,000sq ft and is the second largest depot in the BWG Group after Value Centre Dundalk. The official opening was on 8 February and it was a big day for them as they showcased the huge advancements that have been made to their customers. They also had a very successful supplier sale day on 29 March which McMahon describes as “electric” which saw over 170 customers and 22 suppliers attend and experience food tastings and promotions.

History

Opened back in 1971, this cash and carry was originally part of Mangan Wholesale, a familyrun business that ran eight depots along the west coast from Letterkenny down to Cork. Mangan Wholesale controlled the Mace franchise for the west of Ireland and it was taken over by BWG in 2008. McMahon, who was made manager around the same time said it was a “natural transition”. However, at that point the country was facing into a tough few years in business so it was not all plain sailing. “When we look back at the noughties there was a lot of false money out there,” he says. “Businesses got involved in property and as a result then from 2009 to 2012, we saw businesses go to the ground. We saw a bit of light in 2012. From then on we’ve seen growth every year in this business.”

McMahon credits Fáilte Ireland with giving the west of the country a lift with two significant marketing initiatives, the Gathering in 2013 and the launch of the Wild Atlantic Way the following year “The west of Ireland is always badly affected when it comes to recessions and I saw that in the 90s when interest rates were around 18% and my own generation went to England and America,” he recalls. “I thought the Gathering was a fantastic initiative bringing people home and many came home for good when they saw a bit of hope. The next initiative that really got us going was the launch of the Wild Atlantic Way. That was fantastic. That is what our business is built around now. It brings people west and into our county It brought the whole place alive,” he says.

Transformation

In the early days of the business, retail was exceptionally strong for Value Centre Ennis but in 1991 they put their first food service rep on the road and it has since grown steadily and now food service accounts for 70% of the business and retail 30% – a huge turnaround.

In 2021 they realised that they needed to extend the business because according to McMahon their goods inward and goods outward were not fit for purpose anymore. They also wanted to grow the chilled and frozen side of the business.

After a €1.5 million investment, the business has nearly doubled in size by incorporating another warehouse that was already on the site.

“We had a wish list at the start and BWG came up trumps and delivered everything and now we have to deliver our part and we know we can. We believe there is a lot of fertile ground out there in county Clare to grow our business,” says McMahon. McMahon explains the changes that were made during the revamp. “We separated goods inwards and goods outwards and put in new loading bays and expanded our chilled and frozen area. We have a fantastic new area for our walk-in business which has increased to 22%. Our new checkouts and coffee dock and new licenced area are really great. We’re very proud of the depot now and we pride ourselves on our customers’ experience when they come in,” he says.

As part of the revamp they invested in solar power with 270 panels on the roof. They also have a charging point for customers so they can charge their cars for free.

Cost of Living

The solar panels will help towards their energy costs as it is impossible not to be affected by the current cost of living crisis. This has been pushing prices up across the board from suppliers to wholesale to retail. “We’ve seen a lot of supplier increases which used to be maybe once a year and now it’s two or three times a year so we are having to pass those increases on unfortunately,” McMahon explains. “Everyone is aware of it. The interest rate increase has another effect on consumers so they are getting it from all sides. We always try to make our prices as competitive as we can here and a big part of the business is the promotional activity.”

They run local and national promotions on a regular basis. National promotions are run on a three-week cycle and they have their own local promotions too coinciding with local events. “We look at previous promotional stock and try to move that on. Occasions such as Paddy’s weekend, Easter and summer are important for promotions. We work around our festivals and our events in the summer periods keeping ourselves out there,” explains McMahon.

Festival season

When we think of the west coast, Kerry and Galway often spring to mind first but McMahon reminds ShelfLife that Clare has an awful lot to offer visitors with Shannon Airport, the Burren, the Cliffs of Moher and a plethora of festivals in the summer, the best known being the Willie Clancy Festival in July and the Lisdoonvarna Matchmaking Festival in September They also host the Irish Open Golf Tournament. All of these attractions and occasions mean more business for Value Centre as local pubs, restaurants and shops stock up. “We do well when our businesses do well,” explains McMahon.

In recent times, Clare hotels have housed many Ukrainian refugees and McMahon says that a lot of these hotels would have traditionally been closed for four months of the year but now they are occupied for the 12 months so it’s good news for both the hotels and the businesses that supply them.

McMahon is hoping for a good summer this year as he feels that they have everything in place to make hay “The good weather is when people spend money If the sun shines we see the orders pouring in and we can have orders out in 24 hours or customers can come in and pick stock themselves. We put extra trucks on the road in the summer to keep up with demand. We’re looking forward to the months ahead because we have a business that is fit for purpose now.” After speaking to McMahon and feeling his infectious optimism, it’s hard not to look forward to the summer too and even consider taking a trip to his beautiful county of Clare! ■