Curley's started life in October 1969, in a tiny corner shop unit on Belfast's Glen Road. More than three decades later, it is one of Northern Ireland's most successful and customer friendly independent supermarket groups. Hugh and Deirdre Kennedy opened their grocery and fruit and vegetable shop with modest intentions, but by 1980 Curley's was a thriving, 4,000sq ft mini-supermarket. Hugh, or "Curley" ­ who eponymously named his store because he once had curly hair ­ traded through the effects of a fire which destroyed the store in 1981 and promptly took possession of a group of nearby cottages, then bought a vacant Lucozade factory on a derelict site. During the 1980s, Kennedy's ambitions grew and he decided West Belfast needed a multi-shop offer and encouraged a range of national and local retailers to join him. Buoyed by his success, he launched the Oaks shopping centre in Dungannon, Co Tyrone, in 1985, which housed a range of local and national retailers, anchored by a Curley's supermarket. Six years later, Curley's began work on Belfast's first state-of-the art shopping centre, the Kennedy Centre, which houses 35 retailers, a multiscreen cinema, fast food, and Curley's superstore. Kennedy then went on to invest another £5m in the Oaks centre in Dungannon so that he could add on new facilities ­ a McDonald's drive thru, a multi-screen cinema and a 45,000sq ft superstore. Says Kennedy: "I put up the money to build the cinemas because I wanted to regenerate the area. I feel quite proud about that." There are now plans to refurbish and expand the Belfast store to double its size ­ up to 50,000sq ft; Kennedy has bought more land for the expansion and plans to include an underground car park. The Curley's group also has 13 off licences ­ one of which has recently been converted into a trial Express format selling a selection of convenience grocery products, something that the chain is particularly keen to expand on. But Kennedy doesn't plan on looking out for any more superstore sites as he reckons there's still plenty of room for smaller stores. "You just need to look in the right place," he says. Despite tough licensing laws, Curley's is happy to be in the off licence business, although as Kennedy jokes,"it can get very expensive, as you sometimes have to buy up the opposition ­ but it's worth it". The chain ­ which uses the strapline, The Friendly Store on its branding ­ boasts an extremely loyal customer base, mainly because its stores opened before any of the British retailers such as Tesco were established. "There used to be a lot more independent retailers in Northern Ireland but they were taken over by the multiples," says Kennedy. The chain is pitched proudly as a very family oriented operation ­ with big creches for kids in both supermarkets as testament to this. The friendly philosophy obviously engenders loyalty internally too, because many of the staff have worked for the chain for years. The bakery manager has been with the chain nearly 30 years and 15 couples have met and married while working there. It's also a family firm, as alongside Kennedy and his wife, his brother Sean is the marketing director and his son Stephen is the manager of the Dungannon branch. All are very hands on and often out on the shop floor talking to customers ­ some of whom have known them for years. "I think I know about 50% of the customers ­ it can sometimes take me hours to get round the shop floor," laughs Kennedy. Price is obviously important to shoppers too ­ the chain does price comparisons between Tesco, Safeway and Dunnes every day on its KVIs and says it usually comes out cheaper on products such as potatoes, which are hugely popular in the two supermarkets. Curley's is big on getting this message across and big red and white signs proclaiming "value" and "offers" hang liberally from the ceilings. Fluorescent yellow signs also loudly proclaim special offers and the chain isn't afraid to fill whole gondolas with cheap offers such as Ulster Fry oil. Kennedy sums up their philosophy: "We've always had a very competitive pricing policy and we also give friendly service. We could be complacent, but you must continue to give them the best you can." Curley's is a devoted Nisa member, which it says gets it good deals and helps in dealing with multi-national companies. However it doesn't go in for giving out flyers featuring promotions, but gives them out in store. It also produces 200 own label products, mainly in the fresh and chilled categories, but ranging from mince to shampoo, which are mostly sourced locally, something which Kennedy says is extremely important for the chain, which actively promotes itself as a local company. There are even signs around the stores, particularly in the fresh produce sections, urging local producers to contact the manager if they're intersted in supplying goods as well as a blue and green logo proclaiming Buy local, we do'. It also makes good business sense for the chain to buy locally because there isn't a solid distribution structure in Northern Ireland. The 35,000sq ft Dungannon store employs 222 staff and has an average basket size of £21.10, while the 25,000sq ft Belfast store employs 235 staff with an average basket size of £17.58. Belfast usually sees 60,000 customers a week, while Dungannon has 30,000. Belfast also holds the honour of having the busiest Bureau de Change in the UK ­ more popular even than Trafalgar Square. Kennedy says customers use the Belfast store like a corner shop, "It covers the whole social divide. The people are very supportive of their own community and like to buy local." However, the Dungannon store serves a larger area. Many customers come from farming communities and therefore don't shop as frequently. It does have a number of features ­ including a brightly coloured, stylish in-store restaurant, a section selling garden furniture and a Cuisine de France bake-off section. There's also a large off-licence area ­ which is sectioned off, according to licensing laws and where customers can pay separately ­ along with 16 checkouts. The average basket size has grown recently in both supermarkets because the chain began to sell hardware and electrical goods which it says have really taken off. Kennedy predicts a lot more growth in that area, with possibly up to 20% of sales coming from non-food in the future. Along with increasing its range, the chain is moving with the times and has just bought new trolleys that take euro coins. And although home shopping is not on the cards because Kennedy doesn't believe the market is big enough in Northern Ireland, it does have a web site featuring job vacancies and promotions. The family is considering expanding it in order to sell drink online, so we could soon see the firm rise further up The Grocer's Top 50 chart next year. n {{FEATURES }}