Convenience retailer Centra has today announced a €23m investment in its store expansion programme around the country.
Centra, which has nearly 500 shops around the country and is part of Musgrave Retail Partners Ireland, said the investment will see the opening of 18 new stores.
The new shops will create at least 468 new jobs across the country, bringing the total employment figure at Centra to over 12,000.
As part of the investment programme, Centra said it will also revamp and refresh 35 existing stores this year.
Today's investment programme is in addition to the €25m spent by the company last year, which included the refresh of 33 outlets across its store portfolio.
Centra reported record sales of over €1.98 billion for 2022 across 167 million consumer transactions.
Central said its brand has shown strong resilience in the face of the ever-increasing economic challenges, which resulted in a 17% increase in sales compared to 2019 - the last non-Covid-19 impacted retail year.
It said that as the final Covid-19 restrictions were lifted last year, employees returned to offices in urban locations around the country.
This trend saw a significant increase in demand for Centra's products with the on-the-go breakfast and lunch options increasing sales by 13% on 2021.
Lunchtime deli sales increased by 10.9% compared to 2021 while its Frank and Honest coffee sales were up 7%.
Its bakery sales also increased by 8% as scones, pastries, rolls and baguettes remained popular with customers.
But Centra also noted challenges during the year as the cost-of-living crisis begin to take hold for consumers.
Shopping trends showed that consumers made a shift in the latter part of 2022 and were focused more heavily on dining in, with its Freshly Prepared range seeing 10% growth year on year.
As consumers continued to look for value, Centra also saw demand for its own-brand range increase significantly, with sales growing by 10.3%.
Centra's Managing Director Ian Allen said the retailer strives to deliver the best value and exceptional quality Irish products to customers.
"Our in-depth understanding of the role of convenience in shopping decisions saw us adapt to the schedules of our time-poor shopper, meeting their needs at each hour of the day. Today's customers are shopping little and often and Centra is the perfect solution to meet this trend," Mr Allen said.
"With nearly 500 stores, Centra is Ireland's leading convenience retailer operating in every community across the country and is well-placed as a destination for top-up shopping. The breadth, scale and value offered through our Centra stores ensures that we can continue to meet the changing daily needs of our customers on their doorstep," he added.
