Incoming Superquinn chief plays down talk of closures

Superquinn's incoming executive chairman has said the closure of individual stores would only be an option in the worst cases. Responding to claims that its new owners would move quickly to close loss-making stores, Mr Simon Burke said that they had no basis in fact.

"Any decision like that would take a lot of careful analysis," Mr Burke said. "Any review of current operations is going to look in great depth at the current situation in each store."

He said that in each case the new owners would look at a range of options that would only include closure at "the bottom end".

Mr Burke added that the preferred option would be to find ways of boosting business in underperforming stores.

"The focus will be on seeing if there are ways we can improve the least good outlets and make them perform better," he said.

While Superquinn's secrecy about its financial performance means it is impossible to establish if any elements of the business are loss-making, industry sources believe that several of its stores are losing money.

Its outlets in Waterford and Limerick are said to be facing particular difficulties because of their distance from the chain's established base in the east of the country.

It is also claimed that ongoing problems with a new distribution system have aggravated those difficulties.

Mr Burke said that he would not be prepared to disclose if any of the stores were loss-making. "There is a range of results that we are getting," he said.

He spent yesterday touring some of the chain's 20 stores and meeting staff. The company's management was briefed at a meeting on Saturday.

The company currently has no chief executive and Mr Burke said there were no immediate plans to appoint one. "I do not think at this stage that any decision has been made about that," he said.

"It's going to take me some time in the business to get to know the people on the management team and we're carrying on with the existing management team."

He also said that it was unlikely that the company would separate its property division, which manages nine supermarkets, from its retail arm.

Mr Burke argued that the company had succeeded as an integrated business with a specialist property management division, and so there was no reason to change it.

Several of the new owners have successful track records in the property business. Mr Burke said that their expertise would be brought to bear to exploit Superquinn's property portfolio for the benefit of the company.

Select Retail Holdings has agreed to buy 95 per cent of Superquinn for €450 million. The Competition Authority will have to approve the takeover, a process that could take up to three months. Mr Burke predicted yesterday that it would be several months before the deal was completed.

Meanwhile, Fine Gael's Enterprise, Trade and Employment spokesman, Mr Phil Hogan, has invited the new owners to appear before the Oireachtas Committee on Enterprise and Small Business "to determine whether consumer interests will be protected in the company's future plans".