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Wednesday, February 20, 2008 :
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Topaz spending €50m rebranding Shell and Statoil stations nationwide
TOPAZ, the private business group backed by Denis O’Brien, is investing €50 million in rebranding the country’s Statoil and Shell service stations as well as the expansion its network.
The move follows the purchase by Topaz of the Irish retail and commercial fuels businesses of Shell and Statoil in 2005 and 2006.
Topaz says the planned expansion will create 400 new jobs and is largely confined to the greater Dublin area. However, the company said it is also looking for opportunities in the Munster area, which it sees as a key geographic location.
As well as the 350 Statoil and Shell stations, the rebrand will include 100 convenience stores, 250 trucks and seven sea terminals.
Topaz chief executive Danny Murray said the company’s ambition was to redefine the service station experience for Irish consumers.
“We want to put the consumer at the heart of our business model and get away from the Big Oil approach to retailing. We’re looking forward to working through our directly owned stations and through our dealer and distributor networks to transform the offering for Irish consumers,” he said.
Mr Murray added that the company wants to double the value of non-fuel sales over the coming years.
They already sell four million cups of coffee, eight million cold drinks, two million sandwiches, five million newspapers and 14 million confectionery products a year.
The first two Topaz-branded service stations and stores opened yesterday at Dublin Port and at Citywest in Dublin.
Topaz, one of Ireland’s largest privately-owned companies, has a turnover of over €3.5 billion a year.
It directly employs 1,300 people in Ireland and is owned by ION Equity and other investors, one of which is believed to be businessman Denis O’Brien.
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