Kerrigan’s Craft Butchers has announced it will return to pricing of the 1970’s to marks its 50 years in business. In the 1970s, Ireland made the switch from imperial measurement system to metric, with lbs replaced by kgs. However, from October 27 to October 29, Kerrigan’s will embrace imperial pricing at its five stores across Dublin – Donaghmede, Malahide, Baldoyle, Northern Cross and Stepaside.
Sirloin steak, usually around €20 per kilo, will be priced at €8.37 per kilo. Sausages will be priced at €2.79 per kilo, whilst pork chops on the bone will be priced at €6.97 per kilo. Chicken fillets will be available for just €1.00 each and mince will be priced at €2.79 per kilo. The butchers will also offer shoppers a trip down memory lane with forgotten cuts of meat, popular in the 1970s, such as offal, collar bacon and rolled ribs of beef also available over the weekend.
Commenting on the business’s milestone anniversary, Managing Director Shane Kerrigan said: “Our customers are the heart of our business so it’s important we could do something to give back to the community here. We’re all incredibly proud of the journey we’ve undertaken together and the legacy we continue to protect.”
Established in 1973 by Brendan Kerrigan, sons Barry and Shane are now at the helm. The duo has continued to transform the business’s appeal and prioritise consumer trends such as convenience, fitness and premiumisation. An online store including home delivery has transformed the Dublin-based butchers’ reach, with customers now based across 32 counties.
Shane continued, “My father started this business in 1973 when he opened our first store in Donaghmede. We now have five physical stores and a thriving online business that fulfils hundreds of orders week-on-week across the island of Ireland and the UK. We’ve listened to our customers to understand what changes we’ve needed to make to meet their needs and demands. Ultimately this has been the key to our longevity. We tapped into the fitness industry launching our Foods for Fitness range in 2013. This was so successful it led to us investing in an online store in 2016 to keep up with demand.
“Being able to identify viable opportunities for product development has been key to our continued success in what has become a challenging trade in recent times. Although the industry is changing, it’s also true that our target demographic is expanding too. We need to continue to package our offering in a way that appeals to customers’ varying demands, be it convenience, healthy options, quality and / or affordability.”
The business employs 35 people despite butcher shops finding it difficult to compete with supermarkets, Kerrigan's has maintained its high street stores with plans afoot to redevelop all physical locations which Shane says will catapult them into becoming “butcher shops of the future”.
Shane explained, “Whilst our continued investment in online has absolutely redefined our business, we’ve also invested in the in-store experience and breathed new life into our physical stores. Here is where our team’s experience, knowledge and service really come into play and our customers appreciate this. The combination of online shopping, which saw a greater uplift during the pandemic, and the continued arrival of bigger retailers, has created an environment that is increasingly difficult for the high street’s brick-and-mortar businesses to survive. We’ve built up a network of partners over 50 years which allows us to give our customers a range of quality products that they can’t easily access elsewhere – and this paired with our customer service keeps our shoppers coming back.”
For more information, visit kerrigans.ie
