Big buy-out to trigger supermarket war

Groceries giant Tesco bared its teeth this week in Galway’s supermarket war as it announced it will take over the ten Joyce’s outlets across the county – as the expanding footprint of discount retailers in Galway continues to grow.

The British supermarket giant revealed that it is to acquire the Joyce’s chain – rebranding and redesigning the until now family-owned grocers, thus increasing its foothold in Galway by 200% – bringing its store count across city and county to 15.

This comes as Aldi is in the process of increasing its Galway workforce by 100 through the construction of stores in Mountbellew, Tuam, Athenry and on the Monivea Road in Galway City – Lidl also has a new store under construction in Knocknacarra and another on the way in Athenry.

In a statement this week, Tesco confirmed it intends to ‘welcome’ the more than 500 Joyce’s employees ‘as colleagues of Tesco Ireland’, but when contacted by the Connacht Tribune declined to comment how that might look in the restructured business.

A spokesperson for the retailer said the plans were being kept under wraps until the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) signed off on the acquisition.

“As this transaction is subject to CCPC approval, such details are being reviewed and it wouldn’t be appropriate to comment in further detail at this stage,” she said.

Whether the proximity of Joyce’s in Oranmore to the existing Tesco in the town would have an impact on either store could not be elaborated on, she added.

The move could spell good news for consumers though, as retailers including the multinationals as well as Dunnes and Supervalu continue to vie for top spot for market share. Suppliers could also see an increase in demand, stated Tesco this week.

See full coverage in this week’s Connacht Tribune, on sale in shops now – or you can download the digital edition from www.connachttribune.ie