Centra
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- This article is for the convenience store chain in Ireland.
- For the bus company in London, see Centra (bus company)
- As parts of vertebrae, it is plural of centrum.
Centra is a convenience store chain in Ireland.
The chain is run by Musgrave, the Irish food wholesaler, however the stores are all owned by individual franchisees. The chain has three different formats available to franchisees - smaller Quick Stop outlets, mid-sized Foodmarkets, and larger Supermarkets. The majority of the stores however follow the Quick Stop format (or are simply branded Centra), as Musgrave also offers the SuperValu format, which is geared towards larger supermarkets.
The chain was originally launched in the Republic of Ireland as "VG" in 1960. In 1979, the VG chain was rebranded as Centra and SuperValu. The company brought both of these stores to Northern Ireland, the latter through the aquisition and subsequent rebranding of Wellworths stores.
In 2002, Centra's turnover was €652.6 million.
Centra's main competitors are Spar and Londis, as well as a number of smaller groups such as Costcutter, Vivo, and XL Stop and Shop. Centra says "Centra for the way we live today"
