Quinnsworth
TypeLimited company
IndustryRetailing
Founded1966 (1966)
FounderPat Quinn
FateAcquired by Tesco (1997)
SuccessorTesco Ireland
Headquarters
Dublin
,
Ireland
Area served
Ireland
ProductsGrocery

Quinnsworth was a supermarket chain operating in Ireland, which was founded by Pat Quinn, opening its first shop in the Stillorgan shopping centre in December 1966.[1] It was later sold to Power Supermarkets. By 1971, it had grown to six shops and a turnover of IR£6 million.[1] It grew to gain a 25% share of the Irish grocery market by the 1990s.[2]

During the 1970s, the company was acquired by Associated British Foods plc.[1] During that period, it used the slogan "Let's get it all together at Quinnsworth".

Quinnsworth is remembered for its choice of store sites. Its most memorable act was the addition of the phrase Yellow Pack to the retailing lexicon.[1] Towards the end of Quinnsworth's life, Yellow Pack was replaced by K.V.I. label as the low-cost generic grocery brand, and a high quality generic line called Premium Choice modeled after Loblaws President's Choice (Loblaws being owned by another branch of the Weston family). Quinnsworth was also remembered for its advertising campaigns featuring its marketing director (and later chief executive) Maurice Pratt, who would personally introduce new product promotions, ending each advert with the company slogan, "That's Real Value".[3]

Crazy Prices (occasionally Super Crazy Prices) was a brand used by Quinnsworth on some of its larger outlets. These were known for their cheap prices. Crazy Prices was one of the first retailers in Ireland to introduce late night opening (until 9pm) on Wednesdays, dubbing this night "Crazy Night" and running special in-store promotions. Until the mid-1990s, most Irish retailers only opened late one night a week, usually Thursday (in Dublin city) or Friday. KVI branding was Crazy Prices equivalent to the Quinnsworth Yellow pack. It came in blue red and white striped packaging. K.V.I. stood for "Keen Value Item" and was the equivalent of the previous Quinnsworth Yellow Pack, except perhaps even further downmarket.

On 21 March 1997, it was announced that the Quinnsworth and Crazy Prices chains had been acquired by the UK supermarket company, Tesco.[2] All shops were rebranded over the following years, with the rebranding process almost completed by April 2001.[4]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Death of Pat Quinn, founder of Quinnsworth". The Irish Times. 25 November 2009. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
  2. 1 2 "Tesco Takeover Quinnsworth". RTÉ News. 21 March 1997. Retrieved 6 September 2023 – via RTÉ Archives.
  3. ↑ Quinnsworth Shop Irish Commercial 1995, retrieved 6 September 2023
  4. ↑ Murphy, David (20 April 2001). "Dunnes sales slipping". Irish Independent. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
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