Supermac's is an Irish fast food restaurant chain first opened in 1978. The first restaurant was located in Ballinasloe, a small town in County Galway in the West of Ireland. As of 2015 the chain consists of a total of 118 restaurants spread throughout Ireland and Northern Ireland.^[2] It operates a number of franchise outlets with many also privately owned. Supermac's serves an average of 320,000 customers per week^[3] and had annual revenues of €79.9 million and a profit of €7.4 million according to its 2013 closing report.^[4]

Its head office is in the Ballybrit Business Park in Ballybrit, County Galway.^[5]

History[edit]

The first restaurant was opened in Ballinasloe, County Galway, in the West of Ireland, by Pat and Una McDonagh.^[6][7]

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As of November 2013, Supermac's is the largest Irish-owned quick service food chain.^[8] The franchise has over 100 outlets across the Republic and Northern Ireland. In June 2014, Supermac's opened its 100th store in the Barack Obama Plaza on the M7 Motorway.^[9] Supermac's also exclusively operates the Papa John's Pizza brand in Ireland as well as SuperSubs which offers a variety of subs, wraps and salads. The company employs over 4,000 people as of 2019.^[10]

Corporate overview[edit]

Name[edit]

The Restaurant was named together by locals and its owners: The founder, Pat McDonagh, earned the nickname ‘Supermac’ whilst playing Gaelic football for the Carmelite College in Moate. This then became the natural choice of name for his business, 'Supermac’s'

International operations[edit]

Through Supermac's Ireland Ltd, Pat and Una McDonagh also own Claddagh Irish Pubs & Restaurants, a chain of eleven Irish-themed bars & restaurants operating in 8 Midwestern states in the United States.^[11]

Supermac's is Ireland's largest indigenous quick service restaurant group with a policy of continued expansion and growth.^[12] Supermac's Holdings Ltd. has applied to trademark the Supermac's name in both Europe and Australia with plans to open branches in each jurisdiction following requests from residents in 15 cities around the world to do so.^[13]

In June 2013 Supermac's opened its 100th store in the Barack Obama Plaza on the M7 Motorway.^[14] The company further expanded its motor services business by developing the Tipperary Town Plaza and Mallow N20 Plaza on key national routes. The company opened another Plaza in Kiltullagh, Galway at the M6 Loughrea Junction in February 2016^[15]

Hotels[edit]

The company has also expanded its hospitality business interests through the purchase and development of the Castletroy Park Hotel, Limerick, Loughrea Hotel & Spa, Galway and Charleville Park Hotel, Cork and The Killeshin Hotel, Portlaoise.^[16][17] and Castle Oaks House Hotel^[18] in Limerick

Advertising[edit]

Supermac's initiated the 'Bring them Home' campaign where they reunited families, whose relatives were living around the world, for Christmas. Between 2012 and 2013 Supermac's flew 43 people who had emigrated from Ireland during the economic recession to locations worldwide back to Ireland to be with their families and friends over the festive season.^[19] The campaign was promoted nationally on 2FM’s Tubridy Show and through RTÉ One’s The Late Late Show where the winners surprised their families by being reunited live on air during Christmas week. Winners travelled from Toronto, Chicago, Melbourne, Sydney and NYC.Supermac’s Times Square campaign appeared on Times Square, 7th Avenue, one of New York City’s most prominent buildings.^{[citation needed]}

The chain has been voted one of the 'Top 10 Restaurants to try' by Fox News^[20] while USA Today voted Supermac's one of the 'Top Foreign Chains we want to move Stateside'.^[21]

Sponsorship[edit]

Supermac's sponsors arts, culture and sport within the communities it operates. Their association with Galway hurling is the longest running inter-county GAA sponsorship in the country, currently in its twenty fifth year.^{[citation needed]} In 2013 a new deal was signed seeing both hurling and football in Galway sponsored by one organisation for the first time.^[22] The new deal includes sponsorship of Galway football and hurling across all age groups from under age through to minor, U21 and Senior. To date, Supermac's has invested over €2 million into Galway Hurling.^[23]

The company also regularly engages with other sports sponsorships such as rugby,^[24] soccer,^[25] international rules football (2005) and horseracing (Limerick, Ballinrobe races).^[26]

Other national Supermac's sponsorships include The Ray Foley Show Programme (Today FM) Sponsorship from 2010 to 2012. Through RTÉ 2FM the company sponsored The Will Leahy Show from 2012 to 2014.^{[citation needed]}

On an international level the restaurant chain sponsored the Volvo Ocean Race 2009 and 2012 during the Galway leg of the race.^[27] Supermac's was also a key sponsor of Cannonball Ireland in 2012 and 2014.^[28]

EU trademarks case[edit]

McDonald's objected to Supermac's registration application to trademark its name and certain product names on the grounds that the names Supermac's and McDonald's are similar. In its submission McDonald's argued that the Supermac's name is visually similar to their trademark while Supermac's argue that they have traded alongside McDonald's in the Republic of Ireland for over 30 years without confusion.^[29] McDonald's won a partial victory, with the EU's Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (OHIM) ruling that Supermac could trade under its own name in the EU, but it rejected Supermac's trademark applications for several items, including menu items. It said that consumers could 'be confused as to whether Supermac’s is a new version of McDonald’s', given the almost identical products sold by both chains.^[30]

In January 2019, the EUIPO ruled that certain trademarks owned by McDonald's, including BIG MAC (in all capital letters), were to be revoked.^[31][32][33]

Charity[edit]

Supermac's has donated money to charities such as Trocaire and to local charities including Alan Kerrins African Projects.^[34] It has also hosted charity events in its outlets such as Today FM’s Shave or Dye.^[35]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

1. ^https://www.advertiser.ie/galway/article/108607/118th-outlet-as-supermacs-opens-tomorrow-in-wexford
2. ^https://www.advertiser.ie/galway/article/108607/118th-outlet-as-supermacs-opens-tomorrow-in-wexford
3. ^'Minister congratulates Supermac's commitment to Irish farmers Agriculture, Ireland, news for Ireland, Agriculture, Food and Drink, Ireland,'. www.businessworld.ie. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
4. ^'Supermacs on Top1000.ie'. Top 1000. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
5. ^'Supermac’s HQ.' Supermac's. Retrieved on 17 November 2017. 'SUPERMAC’S HEAD OFFICE, Ballybrit Business Park, Ballybrit, Galway'
6. ^'Pat McDonagh: start-up essentials'. JOE. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
7. ^'Supermac's boss accuses McDonald's of disrespect'. www.irishexaminer.com. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
8. ^Deegan, Gordon (23 November 2013). 'Pre-tax profits at Supermacs up a tasty 6% to €5.35m'. Irish Examiner. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
9. ^'Supermac's chief hits road with €7m Obama Plaza - Independent.ie'. Independent.ie. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
10. ^'Supermac's Careers'. www.supermacs.ie/. Retrieved 6 October 2019.
11. ^'Claddagh Main Page About Claddagh Irish Pubs'. www.claddaghirishpubs.com. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
12. ^'Supermac's to create 100 jobs at new motorway plaza in Galway - Independent.ie'. Independent.ie. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
13. ^'Supermac's in trademark battle with McDonald's'. RTÉ.ie. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
14. ^'Supermac's chief hits road with €7m Obama Plaza - Independent.ie'. Independent.ie. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
15. ^'Supermac's to open six new outlets this year'. TheJournal.ie. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
16. ^'Supermac's Boss Takes Over Portlaoise Hotel Hospitality Ireland'. Hospitality Ireland. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
17. ^'Supermac's launches first fresh meat burger in fast food chain in Ireland'. www.farmersjournal.ie. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
18. ^Louise, Kelly. 'Supermac's chief Pat McDonagh to create hundreds of jobs across Ireland'. Irish Independent. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
19. ^'Supermac's bring them home competition'. supermacs.ie. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
20. ^'10 fast-food restaurants you haven't heard of'. Fox News. 25 October 2012. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
21. ^'Fast-food freedom: Top foreign chains we want in the USA'. USA TODAY. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
22. ^'Supermacs chips in to unite Galway codes'. www.irishexaminer.com. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
23. ^'Galway GAA ties up five-year sponsorship deal with Supermacs'. The42. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
24. ^'Supermac's supports Connacht Rugby'. Galway Advertiser. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
25. ^'MERVUE UTD Official Website'. www.mervueunited.com. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
26. ^'Racecaller.com: Allowing Horse Racing Fans to Connect, Compete and Find Winners'. racecaller.com. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
27. ^'Galway's top sporting sponsor in appeal for celebration of success - Connacht Tribune - Galway City Tribune'. Connacht Tribune - Galway City Tribune. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
28. ^'Cannonball 2012 Makes a Final Pitstop at Dundrum'. www.tipperarystar.ie. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
29. ^'Battle of the burgers: Supermac's and McDonald's in name row - Independent.ie'. Independent.ie. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
30. ^'McDonald's wins fight against Supermacs'. The Journal. 28 January 2016. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
31. ^Irish Times: Supermac's wins trademark battle with McDonald's
32. ^McDonald's loses case against Irish rival - BBC News
33. ^'Irish burger chain beats McDonald's in Big Mac trademark battle'. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
34. ^'Sports stars give their cups to Galway'. Galway Advertiser. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
35. ^'Supermac's - Over €18,000 and counting raised for the.. Facebook'. www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2 November 2015.

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