Gala is a

convenience shop A convenience store, convenience shop, bakkal, bodega, corner store, corner shop, superette or mini-mart is a small retail store that stocks a range of everyday items such as convenience food, groceries, beverages, tobacco products, lottery t ...

chain in

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. Established in 1998, as of 2021 Gala had approximately 250 shops nationwide, all under franchise. The

symbol group A symbol group is a form of Franchising, franchise of convenience shops, found primarily in the United Kingdom and Ireland. They do not own or operate shops, but act as suppliers to independent shops which then trade under a common banner. Unli ...

is supplied by a number of independent wholesalers which were formerly part of the National Wholesale group (now known as Stonehouse). In 2008, the brand recognised its tenth year in business. Gary Desmond is the chief executive officer.

History

In 1998, the National Wholesale Grocers Alliance, a buying group of independent

cash and carry Cash and carry (or inspect and pay) is a type of operation within the wholesale sector. Overview The main features of cash and carry are summarized best by the following definitions: *Cash and carry is a form of trade in which goods are sold ...

outlets, launched Gala Retail Services Limited. The launch represented an attempt to replicate models operated by the

BWG Foods BWG Foods Unlimited Company is an Irish wholesaler and retail grocery franchise operator. BWG is the second largest wholesaler in Ireland in terms of sales, after Musgrave Group, with sales of over €1.7 billion annually. It used to be owned ...

' Spar chain and the Musgrave-owned

Centra Centra is a convenience shop chain that operates throughout Ireland. The chain operates as a symbol group owned by Musgrave Group, the food wholesaler, meaning the individual shops are all owned by individual franchisees. The chain has three ...

chain. It followed the entry of

Costcutter Costcutter is a convenience shop symbol group operating as two separate entities with different ownerships in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. It previously had stores in Poland. The shops are independently owned and join the gro ...

, a UK-based convenience store group, to the Irish market. As of 2005, Gala was operating stores under three brands: "Gala", "Gala Superstore" and "Checkout". In 2019, the group began the changeover of "Checkout" branded stores to a new facia called "Your Stop". Gala Retail Services Limited coordinates the franchise services for the retailers such as central billing, store development, fresh food advice, marketing, training and information technology, while wholesale members supply stores with goods. From 2018 to 2023,

acquired three Gala wholesale members, including 4 Aces Wholesale and Tuffys Wholesale, and is now the largest supplier to the symbol group.

Sponsorship

Gala sponsors ''Gradam Chumarsáide an Oireachtais'', and the Irish Special Olympics Team. The company previously sponsored the

All-Ireland Senior Camogie Championship The All-Ireland Senior Camogie Championship is a competition for inter-county teams in the women's field sport of game of camogie played in Ireland. The series of games are organised by the Camogie Association and are played during the summer mo ...

from 2006 until early 2011.

References

External links

Gala
{{Supermarkets in Ireland Supermarkets of the Republic of Ireland Supermarkets of Northern Ireland Supermarkets of Ireland Franchises