CEO announces 2019 profit figures and plans for the future
At a media briefing today, the CEO of The Maxol Group confirmed that diversification was at the core of the company’s growth strategy, as evidenced by its move into the green energy sector earlier this year and the impact of its food offering on the company’s profitability.
Brian Donaldson, who has been at the helm since 2016, also announced details of the company’s investment strategy, its food programme, immediate plans for the business, including the release of the company’s centenary book and a new loyalty programme.
The latest figures for the company showed a profit of €17.8M for 2019, up 14% from €15.5M on the previous year. There are more than 1,000 people employed indirectly across The Group (North and South) including at its 237 forecourts.
From 100 Years Celebration to a Global Pandemic
This year marks 100 years of business in Ireland for Maxol, and the company had major plans at the outset of 2020 to celebrate the milestone. Mr Donaldson explains, “We had a packed schedule of celebratory activities that began with a large-scale national radio sponsorship. We had plans for our biggest ever retailer conference, events with our brand ambassador, Jacob Stockdale, and at that point, we were finalising the last chapters of our centenary book. Then the pandemic hit.” As with many businesses in Ireland, the business operation and its priorities changed overnight.
Mr Donaldson continues, “We had never seen anything like it. Within two weeks, we had invested more than €50,000 across the business in health & safety measures. Businesses had to take unprecedented measures in unprecedented times, and Maxol was no different; we reduced average serving times from three to two minutes in a massive effort to reduce time instore, along with queuing time outdoors. Perspex screens, enhanced cleaning, staff training and a further investment in advertising to let people know that we remained open and committed to serving communities safely ran side by side with our daily operations.”
Meanwhile, the company’s deli offering, a key focus of the business in its expansion strategy, had to be adapted quickly; fuel sales plummeted, and all eat-in dining options had to be suspended.
“Eight months on, aided by the fact that Maxol is an adaptable and agile business, the dust has settled somewhat and we are fortunate in that we have nonetheless been in a position to make some exciting announcements and implement positive changes.”
Centenary
Maxol is one of the few private, family-owned companies that has reached a 100-year milestone, a landmark moment for the fourth-generation business founded by the McMullan family in 1920. One of the key celebratory initiatives undertaken by the Group was the production of a centenary hardback book, Maxol 1920–2020: Celebrating the First Hundred Years of an Irish Family Company, which was written and compiled by Irish author and historian, Turtle Bunbury. The book captures Maxol’s 100-year legacy including the vision of William McMullan and the generations to follow.
Printing of the book was delayed to allow for the addition of a chapter on Maxol’s response to the COVID-19 crisis with the launch now scheduled for the end of November.
2020 investments
Since 2012, the company has invested almost €200M in both new sites and the redevelopment of its existing network. Despite the ongoing pandemic, this year saw a company investment of almost €20M across 16 sites including Dolphins Barn, Ballinteer, Dooradoyle, Ardbrae and Newbridge.
Maxol’s first greenfield location since 2016 was opened at Rathnew in Wicklow following an investment of €3.75M, creating 20 new jobs. Maxol Rathnew opened in the early days of the pandemic in Ireland with immediate modifications being made to the premises. A further €14M investment is planned for 2021, which will see the conclusion of this phase of the company’s Capex programme.
Diversification and bright
Maxol marked its move into the green energy sector in July with the launch of bright, a 100% green energy company founded in partnership with energy entrepreneurs Ciaran and Stephen Devine of Evermore Energy.
“We are a hugely ambitious company, continuously looking at ways in which we can differentiate, diversify and evolve,” said Mr Donaldson. “Bright, which is the coming together of two family-owned businesses was a huge step for us, and indeed one of the most important on our environmental journey. Bright is a genuine challenger in the energy market; it is value led, easy to use and understand, and offers everything in one place using one tariff and app-based technology.”
Maxol’s environmental journey has evolved over many years as the company looks to reduce its environmental footprint and make the greener option the easier option for its customers. It was one of the first retailers to offer 100% compostable cups and lids, discounts are provided to customers who use a reusable cup when purchasing hot drinks, and the company has been installing compostable and recyclable bins across its service stations to support customers’ recycling efforts.
“We also harvest rainwater for our carwashes,” says Mr Donaldson. “It’s about the journey for us and taking steps to create a more sustainable business model. It isn’t something that can happen overnight, but we are taking a well-thought out and realistic approach when it comes to reducing our carbon footprint.
“Only in the last couple of weeks, we announced a new carbon offsetting programme in association with Greenprint, that aims to offset 100% of carbon emissions with our new premium fuel range. It’s another exciting step for us in the future of greener motoring.”
Food: The future
At the core of Maxol’s business model is its transition from being a fuel brand selling convenience products to a convenience food service brand selling fuel and new energies for mobility.
“Our focus on the food-to-go and eat-in markets along with top up convenience goods certainly helped us steer the waters of the pandemic more robustly than some of our competitors,” says Mr Donaldson. “Last year our ratio of fuel to food was at about 60:40 and this year, that has shifted nearer to 50:50.
“We continue to work with quality brands to deliver high quality food products and offerings and we are proud supporters of other Irish companies with 63% of our bakery and deli goods coming from Irish producers. In 2019, we launched our own brand range with €2M in sales in year one alone, with the most popular items being milk, water and our freshly made sandwiches. People’s expectations of forecourt food have changed; standards are higher than ever before; forecourts are becoming destination stores and the concept of shopping local has regained pace since the pandemic.”
Maxol’s exclusive coffee brand, ROSA, has also been an important part of the forecourt offering, with total sales reaching €8.5M for 2019, with similar projections for 2020.
The company is also diversifying in other ways, including in its fuel offering. By providing a mosaic of different types of fuel including more bio-friendly fuels and other lower emission fuels, Maxol is ensuring it caters to every driver’s needs. The Group’s new Premium fuel range is a better fuel option with fewer pollutants and offers improved vehicle performance, better power and acceleration, whilst reducing engine deposits.
With electrification also gathering momentum, Maxol is ensuring its forecourts have an infrastructure in place to support greener motoring. There are now charging points at 8 Maxol service stations in Dublin, Cork, Wexford, Meath, Kerry, Derry, Antrim and Down.
Maxol continues to invest heavily in technology, which is playing a huge part in the evolution of the Maxol business. Pay-at-pump facilities are becoming increasingly important and prolific and the company is currently trialling mobile payment technology, removing the need for traditional card readers. There are exciting and imminent plans to announce a new loyalty programme app, which will reward customers with special discounts, coffees and other incentives.
Community presence: now more vital than ever
Finally, and perhaps one of the main reasons for Maxol’s success is that most of the sites are neighbourhood and community stores. It was and continues to be a safe place for local people in their local areas, the importance of which was driven home this year.
“We serve the communities of Ireland rather than relying on passing traffic on the motorways or dual carriageways for our business. That is of critical importance to us, to remain at the heart of the community, providing everyday essentials and services. In doing so, we are retaining a large portion of our loyal customer base, regardless of the affect that any market changes, or unforeseen crises, might have on the business. Our service stations are run by local people for local people, employing local people and that has been our business model for 100 years. We are excited about the next 100 years.”
