8 minute read
Daybreak store profile: Shane
Shane Murphy from Daybreak Murrintown, Co. Wexford is a seasoned retailer who has just opened his second Daybreak store. His five year plan is simply to create a good work/life balance for himself and his employees by working smarter, not harder. Fionnuala Carolan speaks to him about his new business and the current challenges facing retailers
Locals in Murrintown are delighted to have the brand-new Daybreak on their doorstep Running a smart business
Murrintown is a townland about five miles outside of Wexford town. Aside from Murphy’s recently opened Daybreak store, it consists of a pub, a primary school, a credit union and the Department of Agriculture down the road. The next nearest shop is approximately five miles away so it’s easy to believe that the locals are delighted to have this new amenity on their doorstep. “We want to be convenient for everyone,” explains owner Shane Murphy. “We want the locals to know that we are there for them. We didn’t just open it to make a quick buck. We’re in it for the long haul.”
Family business
Murphy, a native of Wexford town, explains that it’s their third store in the county, already running a Centra in Rosslare and another Daybreak in Taghmon. This site in Murrintown was derelict for eight years until a local auctioneer got planning permission to double its size, making it a more enticing property for perspective retailers. “We had a look at it before Christmas and decided we would have a chat to the owners. We came up with a plan and we opened by April,” explains Murphy, illustrating just how rapidly things progressed.
He and his wife Siobhan work in the businesses alongside their daughter Shauna (31) who manages the Centra store in Rosslare and their two teenage children Sean (17) and Sarah (16) who help out across the three stores and Murphy is happy for them to decide if they want a career in retail when they are good and ready. “I wouldn’t push any of them towards it,” he says. “It will give the younger two a bit of work ethic before they go to college and they can make their own decisions after that.”
STORE PROFILE store: Daybreak Murrintown, Co. Wexford owners: Shane and Siobhan Murphy staff: 15 size: 1,700 sq ft opening hours: 7.30am-9pm Monday to Saturday and 7.30am-8pm Sunday
Background in retail
Murphy has been working in retail since he was 15 and you could say he was almost dragged into it by his industrious grandmother. “My grandmother was good friends with the late Jackie Pettitt, who started Pettitt’s Group (that now runs six SuperValu stores across the south east). My grandmother was in shopping one day and Jackie was on the floor sweeping. She asked why he was doing it himself and he replied that some fella he had hired hadn’t come into work. “I have a grandson sitting at home doing nothing,’ my grandmother said. ‘Do you want him to come in?’ I wasn’t even looking for a job,” he laughs. “I was just 15 and wanted to play football all day. Next thing she arrived up and said ‘there’s a job there in Pettitt’s. Go down there and help Jackie out’. That was in 1989 and I haven’t left retail since.”
Murphy eventually moved on to work in Dunnes Stores and then to senior roles in SuperValu with the Caulfield Group. In 2008 the opportunity came to open his own store with Centra in Rosslare and he has been forging ahead with his convenience businesses since.
Daybreak
Working in SuperValu and Dunnes Stores and then opening a Centra meant that Murphy was used to running things on a larger scale. When they opened the Daybreak in Taghmon, it took a bit of adjustment to get used to managing a smaller operation where you need to work in every facet of the business due to less staff.
“The deli is doing extremely well,” explains Murphy of their Munch & Co deli offering. “We have a really good team in there that are into their food and are hard workers. We’ve a different menu every day and the locals have loved it and are coming from miles around. The staff has started to experiment and are making different types of rissoles and they are going down a treat.”
For those who don’t know, a rissole is a local Wexford delicacy involving potatoes with herbs in either breadcrumbs or a batter. They are very popular in the deli but they also provide a full carvery roast every day and have started to offer platters for parties too. “The support from the locals has been phenomenal,” says Murphy.
Value is displayed throughout the store with retailer Shane Murphy noting that: “Musgrave is working hard on the promotional side of the business making sure that the people and the suppliers receive value” With a different menu every day, customers are coming from miles around to enjoy the Munch & Co deli offering
It is not surprising as the Murphys endeared themselves to the locals early on by offering free ice cream to all the children in the local school. “On the day that the kids got their Easter holidays we gave all the primary school children free ice cream. At 12.30 that day we had 300 children in a queue for ice cream going down the road. The whole village were standing around eating ice creams and the atmosphere was super,” he recalls.
They have the Daybreak ice cream concept Lickety Split in-store which has been a real hit so far. They also offer the 9 Grams coffee concept with coffee being one of the main footfall drivers in store.
Challenges of a new business
Speaking about the challenges and concerns that one goes through when opening a new business, Murphy is very honest about their hopes and fears. “Every store has its own challenges and with a new store you are trying to find your feet and help your staff find their feet. The bit of anxiety is that you are never guaranteed any customers. Just because we are open doesn’t mean we are entitled to anything. Luckily we’ve had a fantastic response from day one,” he says.
The new rules coming in on sick pay and the living wage are a worry for small retailers in particular says Murphy but the more pressing issue is inflation and the soaring cost of energy meaning that people have less money in their pockets.
“Where we make money is people buying themselves a coffee for €3 rather than a jar of coffee for €4. Or treating themselves to a nicer bottle of wine at the weekend. That’s where we get the money to do revamps, to bring in new concepts and have the place looking as good as possible and the latest machinery and nice uniforms but you will see a slowdown on those things now as people will just not have the money to spend,” he realistically states.
Musgrave
Most retailers are aware that customers are going to be very conscious of cost going forward. Is it hard to offer value in a small store? “No, I think the value is still there because Musgrave is working hard on the promotional side of the business making sure that the people and the suppliers receive value,” says Murphy. “The amount of lines might come down but there is always value in every category.”
“If you are a single person and you are not buying in bulk you might see an increase in the costs of your shopping sooner because a lot of time the value is in multi-buys. The challenge is when will inflation stop and is the government doing anything to stop it as they have to play a role,” he stresses.
Paul Mullen, the Musgrave business development manager (BDM) has been a big help to the Murphys in getting the store up and running. “I knew what Musgrave could offer me so I know I’m with the right people for the job,” says Murphy.
Five year plan
While still finding their feet in Murrinstown, it’s probably a little premature to ask if there are any plans for more expansion in the pipeline and Murphy confirms that they are happy with what they have. “My wife said that for the sake of this marriage you are not to take on any more stores,” he jokes. “I think the five year plan is just to make our lives and the lives of everyone else in the business who works for us easier. To do everything we do efficiently and face the challenges that come along but my mantra is ‘work smarter, not harder’. I just try to make my colleagues’ lives as easy as possible. If I see them doing something, I’ll suggest the easiest way to do it. That’s all we want to do is grow the business and make sure our people aren’t killed doing it. I want people to have an enjoyable day and have a laugh while getting the job done.” ■
