Irish retailer SuperValu has announced it is to close two of its stores in January located in Carlow and Clonmel. The retailer, which has the largest market share of the Irish grocery market at 24.6%, said the trading environment in both towns has been challenging for the past number of years.

The closure of both stores will lead to the loss of 98 jobs, with 54 workers employed in the Carlow store and 44 workers in the Clonmel store.

The announcement comes just a week after the latest figures from Kantar Worldpanel in Ireland show that SuperValu had overtaken Tesco as Ireland’s largest grocery retailer for the second time this year with a near 25% share of the market. The Irish grocery market is valued in excess of €9bn.

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