How many xl shops are there in ireland

It is a brand synonymous with Irish culture and heritage, particularly through its support of the Irish language. XL Retail Group passionately believes in supporting Irish. This manifests itself in how we do business and, indeed, who we do business with through our engagement with suppliers.

Sourcing products locally is hugely important to us, as our XL Retailers pride themselves on supporting Irish suppliers in every way we can. It is brilliant to have 25 local radio stations showing their support for Irish music and Irish musicians — who are so important to local communities all over Ireland. XL Retail Group is extremely proud of its uniquely Irish heritage. The rapid growth has been aided by XL's natural advantages in a recession. Born in to hoover up the shops who wanted more independence than they'd get with the likes of a Centra or a Spar, XL has always had a proud rural bias.

Enter email address This field is required Sign Up. Moane also believes his retailers are somewhat insulated from the evaporation of Breakfast Roll Man. As well as being blessed with a retailer base that was somewhat cushioned from the worse recessionary impact, the downturn has also proved something of a recruitment tool for XL. Shops coming in under the XL banner get cheaper wholesale prices, but still have the freedom to buy some goods from their local suppliers.

They can also drive down their costs by availing of BWG's group schemes for services like energy and they get to hang a known brand over their door.

It helps give you a standing amongst other shops," said Con Moloney, who owns the massive XL outlet at the end of the old M7 road in Mountrath, Co Laois. Moloney is also a big fan of the support he gets from XL, praising the team for working night and day to help him lay out his store in XL format, and he likes being able to sell their 'own brand' Family Value range. It's very clear that the consumer appetite for an alternative to the main brand is completely different from what it was four or five years ago.

Now it's all about value. The chain responded by summoning a group of its more "progressive" retailers and asking them "what they wanted". A consumer focus group was also convened, to give a broader picture of how XL was perceived in its communities. BWG duly responded by changing the chain's name to the simpler 'XL', and introducing a new green and blue colour scheme. XL stores have wenjoye a steady period of growth, as Colm Fitzsimons, business development manager, explains Read More: XL.

XL offers retailers the opportunity to retain their independence and local identity, while benefitting from the many advantages of symbol group membership. So says Colm Fitzsimons, business development manager at XL. XL business development manager Colm Fitzsimons. The fact that they are locally based means they can offer friendly and expert advice.

There has been continual investment in the Value Centre branch network over recent years and, BWG has stated there are plans for further investment in the coming years. In terms of the reflexive nature of the relationship between the company and its retailers, Fitzsimons points out that XL has one of the biggest teams, with 40 sales reps on the road.

XL also has a team of dedicated business development managers, whose task is to help keep the XL business on track by continuously working with retailers to review store performance, ensure the shop layout is working and that sales opportunities are being maximised.

As with the other symbol groups within the BWG Group, XL retailers are set to reap the benefits of the new Shoplink system, a feature-rich e-commerce solution that combines technologies to make life easier for retailers across the country.

This allows retailers to monitor their own sales and purchase history when making orders through the Shoplink system. In terms of the challenges being faced by the industry in Ireland currently, and what moves XL is making to meet those challenges head-on, Fitzsimons says that competition within the industry is very tough.

This will cause a ripple effect across the whole industry.