How are you managing the
challenges posed by coronavirus?
My priorities are my employees and the customers. I employ 150 people here in the store. Up to 10 said they are concerned because they have chest problems or bronchitis and are happier to stay away. However, some people in the town have unfortunately lost their jobs and we have 10 or 12 people in from other organisations to help out now. Because all the GAA fixtures have been cancelled, Clonakilty GAA club has offered the service of their members to deliver shopping for us.
What are customer footfall levels compared to normal?
In the last two or three weeks, we have noticed a substantial increase in our customer numbers. The average customer spend jumped through the roof two weeks ago and that was put down to panic buying.
The Thursday through to the Monday before St Patrick’s Day was crazy in the shop. People were scared with all the fake news that was going around about the army going to shut things down.
Scally's Super Valu, Clonakilty, has extra signage on the floors at counters and check-outs throughout the store. Flour is in major demand at the moment and is proving difficult to source.
Have things eased since?
Since St Patrick’s Day, shopper numbers have been way more balanced and there isn’t the same rush on food. We’re better organised too. We’ve signage out in the shop and we’ve protection installed at our tills for our staff. We also have priority shopping for elderly people from 9am to 10am and autism friendly shopping on Tuesday nights.
What products are in demand?
Until the middle of last week, the initial run was on toilet roll, beans and pasta. But people are getting a grip of themselves and the biggest demand now is for anti-bacterial wipes, baby formula and fresh food. There’s been a huge spike in demand for potatoes, carrots and cabbage.
As part of the measures to reduce the spread of Coronavirus , bread from the bakery is no longer self-service at Scally's Super Valu, Clonakilty. Pictured is Catriona Scally getting some bread for a customer.
Can you meet this increased demand for fresh food?
About 55% of our total business is fresh food sales, which wouldn’t be a normal figure for a supermarket. Consumers are probably shopping heavier than normal, but we’re well equipped because we’ve always supported our local food suppliers.
We source eggs from suppliers in Ballinascarthy, Upton, Rosscarbery and Shannonvale. We get potatoes from growers Maurice Whelton and Martin O’Leary, while our vegetables come from Ian Callanan.
In town, we have suppliers like Irish Yoghurts, Clona Dairies and Collette Twomey, who runs Clonakilty Pudding. We get our cheese from Carbery. Since we opened in 1984, we have supported these local producers and now they are putting their shoulder to the wheel to make sure there is plenty of food in our store for our customers.
Michael Murphy of Walsh Construction group installing screens at the checkouts in Scally's Super Valu, Clonakilty.
What food products are hard to source right now?
Chicken is scarce at the moment due to the bird flu scare in Monaghan. But we’re not too concerned, because we have plenty of supply from Shannonvale Foods here in the town. Flour is also proving a little hard to source, but aside from that, there’s very little disruption in the food supply chains.
The support of Musgraves and the SuperValu team has been huge. We’re getting deliveries seven days a week of fresh ingredients that aren’t produced locally. These are coming in on a Musgraves truck from different parts of the country and we’re proud to be part of that, especially at a time like this.
Name: Eugene Scally.Occupation: Owner of Scally’s SuperValu.Store location: Clonakilty, Co Cork.Employees: 150.
How are you managing the
challenges posed by coronavirus?
My priorities are my employees and the customers. I employ 150 people here in the store. Up to 10 said they are concerned because they have chest problems or bronchitis and are happier to stay away. However, some people in the town have unfortunately lost their jobs and we have 10 or 12 people in from other organisations to help out now. Because all the GAA fixtures have been cancelled, Clonakilty GAA club has offered the service of their members to deliver shopping for us.
What are customer footfall levels compared to normal?
In the last two or three weeks, we have noticed a substantial increase in our customer numbers. The average customer spend jumped through the roof two weeks ago and that was put down to panic buying.
The Thursday through to the Monday before St Patrick’s Day was crazy in the shop. People were scared with all the fake news that was going around about the army going to shut things down.
Scally's Super Valu, Clonakilty, has extra signage on the floors at counters and check-outs throughout the store. Flour is in major demand at the moment and is proving difficult to source.
Have things eased since?
Since St Patrick’s Day, shopper numbers have been way more balanced and there isn’t the same rush on food. We’re better organised too. We’ve signage out in the shop and we’ve protection installed at our tills for our staff. We also have priority shopping for elderly people from 9am to 10am and autism friendly shopping on Tuesday nights.
What products are in demand?
Until the middle of last week, the initial run was on toilet roll, beans and pasta. But people are getting a grip of themselves and the biggest demand now is for anti-bacterial wipes, baby formula and fresh food. There’s been a huge spike in demand for potatoes, carrots and cabbage.
As part of the measures to reduce the spread of Coronavirus , bread from the bakery is no longer self-service at Scally's Super Valu, Clonakilty. Pictured is Catriona Scally getting some bread for a customer.
Can you meet this increased demand for fresh food?
About 55% of our total business is fresh food sales, which wouldn’t be a normal figure for a supermarket. Consumers are probably shopping heavier than normal, but we’re well equipped because we’ve always supported our local food suppliers.
We source eggs from suppliers in Ballinascarthy, Upton, Rosscarbery and Shannonvale. We get potatoes from growers Maurice Whelton and Martin O’Leary, while our vegetables come from Ian Callanan.
In town, we have suppliers like Irish Yoghurts, Clona Dairies and Collette Twomey, who runs Clonakilty Pudding. We get our cheese from Carbery. Since we opened in 1984, we have supported these local producers and now they are putting their shoulder to the wheel to make sure there is plenty of food in our store for our customers.
Michael Murphy of Walsh Construction group installing screens at the checkouts in Scally's Super Valu, Clonakilty.
What food products are hard to source right now?
Chicken is scarce at the moment due to the bird flu scare in Monaghan. But we’re not too concerned, because we have plenty of supply from Shannonvale Foods here in the town. Flour is also proving a little hard to source, but aside from that, there’s very little disruption in the food supply chains.
The support of Musgraves and the SuperValu team has been huge. We’re getting deliveries seven days a week of fresh ingredients that aren’t produced locally. These are coming in on a Musgraves truck from different parts of the country and we’re proud to be part of that, especially at a time like this.
Name: Eugene Scally.Occupation: Owner of Scally’s SuperValu.Store location: Clonakilty, Co Cork.Employees: 150.
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