Dunnes Stores
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| Dunnes Stores | |
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| Type | Unincorporated family-owned trust |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1944 in Cork |
| Headquarters | Dublin |
| Key people | Frank Dunne (Managing Director) |
| Industry | Retail (various) |
| Products | Groceries, textiles, etc. |
| Employees | 18,000 |
| Slogan | "Always Better Value" |
| Website | www.dunnesstores.com |
Dunnes Stores is a supermarket and clothing retail chain based in the Republic of Ireland.
The chain primarily sells food, clothes and household wares. In addition to its main customer base in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, the chain has operations in Great Britain and Spain. The format of the chain's stores is very similar to that of the British company Marks and Spencer, with a grocery supermarket operating alongside a clothing/textiles store. The grocery operation only operates in Irish stores, although some limited grocery ranges can be found in the Spanish stores. However some stores contain only textiles, while some (more rarely) contain only a supermarket. The company is famous for its St. Bernard label. This has declined in usage in recent years however, with "St. Bernard" largely being displaced by "Dunnes Stores" on drapery products .
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[edit] History
The chain was founded in 1944 in Cork by Ben Dunne, Snr, as a clothing retailer. The food side of the business began in the 1960s. The company opened the first Irish out-of-town shopping centre at Cornelscourt, Co. Dublin, in 1966.
The company is particularly known for the lockout /strike from 1982 to 1986. Members of IDATU (the retail workers Union) refused to handle goods sourced from apartheid South Africa. Neither side would give way and the dispute only came to an end when the Irish Government made imports from South Africa illegal.
[edit] Ownership
The company is not publicly listed - instead it is controlled by a family-owned trust. It is not even a private limited company by shares, hence it does not have to file accounts, but does not have limited liability either. Ben Dunne (junior) was for a long time in a senior position until a 1992 scandal involving drugs and prostitutes, which led to an internal feud which forced his withdrawal. Today two of his siblings, Frank Dunne and Margaret Heffernan, are in charge of the company.
The Dunne Family, who own the company are amongst the richest people in the island of Ireland. Margaret Heffernan, for example, is Ireland's second richest woman with assets of €603 million according to the Sunday Times Rich List 2006.
The company is in the midst of changing over to the next generation of the Dunne family, both Margaret Heffernan and her brother Frank Dunne are giving their shares in phases to their children. Sharon McMahon, niece of Frank Dunne and Margaret Heffernan is also becoming a significant player, having bought out her brother's shares in the company.
[edit] Competition
Dunnes Stores main domestic competitors in the supermarket business are, Tesco Ireland, SuperValu, and Superquinn. In clothing, their rivals include Penneys (Primark), Marks and Spencer, Arnotts, and Debenhams.
