Superquinn: owners want out

Supermarket group Superquinn has swung back into profit, after its acquisition by Irish consortium Select Retail Holdings in 2005. The company's improved situation has prompted the consortium of investors to enlist Goldman Sachs ahead of a potential sale. Although Superquinn represents a prime acquisition opportunity for the major chains, the economic climate may yet delay the sale.

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Portas Pilot town tweeters silenced

UK towns participating in Mary Portas's TV series to showcase government investment in the regeneration of high streets have been asked to sign contracts ensuring social media silence over the period of filming. In contrast, in Ireland social media is playing a key role in community regeneration.

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Musgrave: continues to improve UK performance

The Musgrave group has grown operating profit by 4.1% to E109.2m and nearly halved its net debt to E96m. Going forward, it plans to continue its growth in the UK by investing in IT, logistics and store environments, making stores more consistent and navigable. This is an indication that it plans to supply more fresh goods, but the group will need a strong logistical system if it is to succeed.

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Kingfisher: results better than expected; outlook bleak

DIY retail group Kingfisher has posted better than expected results for 2008/09, with total retail sales up 11.1% to GBP5,130m, masking a like-for-like decline of 2.6%. However, the gloomy prospects for the DIY market could mean hard times ahead for Kingfisher. In the current climate, managing costs and cashflows has become all important, as the global outlook continues to darken by the day.

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HMV Group: HMV updating, Waterstone's stagnating

HMV Group has announced encouraging results for the 16 weeks to April 25, 2009, defying the overall decline among its core product sectors. While HMV UK & Ireland is well placed to exploit a lack of high street competition in its core categories and sales opportunities that will arise from its numerous new ventures, Waterstone's faces an uphill struggle in its bid to reverse its fortunes.

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Game Group: had the gain, now for the pain

Fears of a major slump in the previously buoyant video games market have been realized by a trading update from market leader Game Group. The highly cyclical nature of the sector has been highlighted by the dual release of Game's figures for the 53 weeks to January 31, 2009, in which total UK and Ireland sales were up 25.7%, and for the 11 weeks to April 18, 2009, in which they were down 2.4%.

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Fuel retailing: Irish to pump up the volume at 6.7% per year

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Fuel retailing: Ireland still waiting for motorway services

The Irish National Roads Authority has stated that there will be no new motorway service stations in Ireland until 2009 at the earliest, partly because of lack of interest. However, this seems somewhat surprising as, if executed correctly, oil companies could profit from running motorway service stations in the country.

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Fuel retailers use loyalty promotions to highlight their non-fuel products and services

In February, two major fuel retailers launched promotions in an attempt to generate loyalty and promote higher margin, non-fuel products and services. However, with a recent Verdict survey indicating that European motorists are more concerned about fuel prices and service station location and less about brand loyalty, retailers will find it difficult to make customers interested in such schemes.

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Fuel retail: Ireland gears up for first motorway service stations

Several new motorway service stations are expected to open on the Emerald Isle over the next couple of years, and leading petrol retailers such as Statoil [STL.OL], Esso and Texaco would be foolish not to seize this fresh opportunity to capture a larger share of the Irish market for both fuel and non-fuel products.

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