Anne Bruce & Anthony Garvey Irish chain Superquinn has started "eliminating supervisory management" as part of a tranche of measures to drive value and efficiency. Deputy chairman Eamonn Quinn said it was also reviewing wages across the board due to a slowdown in the Irish economy, price deflation, doubled or trebled insurance costs, pressure from discounters, and centralisation of its distribution. He said it has created a new senior role of "duty manger" which will allow some of the former supervisory staff to "leap the counter" into management. The strategy was outlined at a roadshow at a pilot store, and a number of applications were received from supervisors to upgrade to the new posts. The other 20 Superquinn stores will be visited by the roadshow. Superquinn is planning to shed 300 staff through voluntary redundancy across its operations. The chain is also focusing on its "price fighting" Euro Shopper value range of 350 lines with more prominent PoS material, due to price pressure from the discounters, said Quinn. At the other end of the scale, a trading agreement with Waitrose to stock 110 prepacked Waitrose own label lines in Superquinn is to be extended. Quinn said the Waitrose brand gave Superquinn a point of difference and customer take-up had been excellent. Around 30 new lines would be added during September's "back to school" season. Customer response could not be reliably analysed during the summer holiday period, he said. In addition the retailer has launched the Republic's first drive-in shopping facility from its internet shopping site, Superquinn.ie. With the new service, Click&Collect, customers can shop online at any time and then collect their purchases from a drive-in centre at their convenience. There is a 15 charge to cover the cost of shopping, picking and packing. The first collection centre has opened beside the chain's outlet in the Dublin suburb of Lucan, creating 10 local jobs, and further centres are planned as the business develops. According to Geraldine Penney, the company's internet shopping site business manager, the service is intended to help shoppers who cannot be at home to take deliveries. "Busy lifestyles mean consumer demand for convenience is intensifying," she said. Three years ago, Superquinn became the first chain to offer internet shopping in the Republic of Ireland, and is now making more than 2,500 deliveries every week. {{NEWS }}