| Type | Franchise |
|---|---|
| Industry | Fast food |
| Founded | 1978 |
| Headquarters | Ballybrit, County Galway, Ireland |
| Key people | Pat McDonagh (CEO) |
Supermac's is an Irish owned fast food restaurant chain with restaurants located across the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
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The first Supermac's opened its doors in 1978 in Main Street, Ballinasloe, County Galway, Ireland. It was founded by former school teacher Pat McDonagh after he failed to get planning permission for a pool hall in the same town.
Supermac's 2010 turnover was €58.8m.[1] The company has over 2,500 employees in 103 branches (as of April 2011).[2] Today it serves an average of over 320,000 customers a week.
Supermac's is Ireland's largest indigenous fast-food chain with a large percentage of the outlets franchised. Many hold the same format of a two story store, with plastic seating and the serving counter downstairs and more seating upstairs, sometimes with a children's play area. The outlet's opening hours generally range from from mid morning to the post-pub closing rush.
As well as the standard 'Family Restaurant' format, there is also another format called 'Supermac's Fresh Express'. The 'Fresh Express' format is often found in convenience stores or petrol stations.
Like many fast food franchisers, Supermac's offers a broad range of foods including fries, burgers, chicken, pizza, fish and ice cream.
Supermac's state that they have a policy of actively supporting quality Irish food suppliers. [3] They state that their beef supplies are 100% Irish, are traceable to the farm of origin, are produced exclusively from two choice cuts of pure beef, and are produced to world class best practices.
In attempting to cultivate a healthier image like other fast food franchisers have recently, Supermac's has added several new products such as a chicken ciabatta and a chicken tortilla wrap. They have also integrated with "Relish Cafe" or Subway in some of their larger outlets.
In April 2011, Supermac's published nutritional information for their products after being asked by RTÉ television show Operation Transformation. [4]
Supermac's sells a unique 'cod burger' made with deep fried cod, which has been discontinued in some restaurants due to poor sales.
Supermac's invests heavily in sponsorship, currently sponsoring over 400 different events, teams and projects - including the Galway hurling team.
In 2010, a number of protests were held outside Supermac's outlets over efforts of the Quick Service Food Alliance (QSFA) to lobby for a €1 reduction in the pay of minimum-wage workers at the restaurant. Director of the Migrant Rights Centre Ireland (MRCI) Siobhán O'Donoghue stated that "The restaurant industry is driving an agenda that is bad for low wage workers and bad for Ireland. This challenge is not about saving jobs. It is about cutting workers' wages and increasing profits." [5] [6] As of the end of April 2011, this issue is still awaiting a decision in the High Court [7]
Recently, Pat McDonagh has decided to reinvent and revitalise the image of Supermacs in order to portray a more contemporary image. At the same time, he desires to maintain its sense of 'Irishness'.
McDonagh believes that it is important to change the image to reflect Ireland, as the country becomes more urban and in many people's eyes more sophisticated. This new overhaul is an attempt to bring a certain homogeny to stores as an attempt to repeat the dining experience and bring a more homely feel.[8] McDonagh has a vision of expanding the company beyond its natural base of the west of Ireland. He desires to keep good staff and reduce staff turnover in the company, rather than having a transient workforce.
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