Ireland: Centra invests €16m to open 16 new stores

Irish convenience store chain Centra has announced its €16 million-euro-expansion plans aimed at opening 16 new stores and creating 480 jobs in 2016, reported RTE News.

The retailer, which currently has 460 stores and employs 11,000 people nationwide, posted €1.54bn in sales last year, 1.6 percent up on the previous year.

Centra attributed its rosy financial results to its “Live Well” initiative, which has focused on offering healthier alternatives such as salad boxes, fruit pots, and aloe juice.

According to Sunday Business Post, the c-store network has sold 1.5 million bottles of water and healthy juices, nearly 200,000 salad boxes, and 1.4 tons of quinoa bringing in €6 million euros in sales to the company since the launch of the ‘healthy’ strategy last July.