Brands linked to Conor McGregor are being removed from shelves in potentially over 1,000 outlets across Ireland as a boycott of products associated with the mixed martial arts fighter intensified.
Retail giant Tesco also said a whiskey product promoted by Mr McGregor would be removed from its UK outlets as well as in Ireland.
The move by retailers to boycott brands associated with Mr McGregor came days after a High Court jury found he had assaulted a woman in a Dublin hotel six years ago. Nikita Hand had alleged in her civil action that she was raped by the mixed martial arts fighter. He denied the claim. She was awarded €248,603.
Stores that will no longer sell products linked to Mr McGregor include the Supervalu chain, Costcutter stores and Carry Out off licences.
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BWG Foods, a leading retail and wholesale company, said whiskey and stout products associated with Mr McGregor would no longer be listed for distribution across its network of Spar, Eurospar, Mace, Londis and XL stores.
This could see brands removed from about 1,000 outlets.
Separately the company that bought Mr McGregor’s whiskey brand will stop using his “name and likeness” in marketing. McGregor sold his Proper No. Twelve whiskey brand to Mexican-owned Proximo Spirits in 2021, in a deal that was said at the time to have valued the business at some $130 million (€123.9 million).
The image of the mixed martial arts fighter remained visible on Proximo websites on Tuesday, and the drink remained listed among “McGregor brands” on his personal website.
But Proximo has now indicated he will no longer feature in company marketing.
“Since 2021, Proximo Spirits has been the 100 per cent owner of Proper No. Twelve Irish Whiskey,” the company said in response to questions.
“Going forward, we do not plan to use Mr McGregor’s name and likeness in the marketing of the brand.”
There was no immediate comment from Mr McGregor’s representative.
Mr McGregor entered the brewing business in recent years with a product called Forged Irish Stout which has been sold in some off-licences, supermarkets and several pubs
On Sunday the Rape Crisis Network Ireland urged retailers to stop selling products associated with Mr McGregor.
Before lunchtime on Tuesday the Barry Group, which operates the Costcutter stores and Carry Out off-licences, became the first to say it was dropping Forged Irish Stout and Proper Twelve Whiskey . “This action reflects our commitment to maintaining a retail environment that resonates with the values of our customers and partners,” it said.
Shortly afterwards Musgraves, which owns the Supervalu and Centra outlets, followed suit.
Tesco said it would be removing Proper No 12 whiskey from sale. It does not stock Forged Irish Stout.
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The Barry Group, one of Ireland’s leading retail food and alcohol wholesale providers which operates the Costcutter and Carry Out off-licence outlets told The Irish Times on Tuesday that it had “made the decision to remove Forged (Irish) Stout and Proper Twelve (whiskey) from circulation to our network”.
Meanwhile, it is understood that BWG Foods, one of the country’s leading retail and wholesale companies, has decided to delist products linked to Mr McGregor and will no longer be distributing them across its network of Spar, EUROSPAR, Mace, Londis and XL stores.
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On Monday, the developer of the ‘Hitman’ video game series said it was removing content featuring Conor McGregor.
IO Interactive said in a statement on social media: “In light of the recent court ruling regarding Conor McGregor, IO Interactive has made the decision to cease its collaboration with the athlete, effective immediately”.
“We take this matter very seriously and cannot ignore its implications. Consequently, we will begin removing all content featuring Mr McGregor from our storefronts starting today.”
A number of industry sources maintained that while Forged Irish Stout is on sale in some pubs, it is not widely available.
The Press Up Group, the country’s largest hospitality group, said it “never stocked any of Conor McGregor’s brands”.
One Dublin off-licence operator said on Monday that his store would not be selling McGregor products again.
Damien Martin of Martin’s off-licence in Marino in Dublin said his store did not generally stock such products but had previously secured a case on request for a customer. He said in the aftermath of the court case last week, his store had no interest doing so in the future.
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Supermarkets Lidl and Aldi also said they did not sell any products owned by Mr McGregor.
On Sunday, the Rape Crisis Network Ireland (RCNI) urged retailers to stop selling Mr McGregor’s stout and whiskey products in the aftermath of the jury’s decision in the High Court.
Clíona Saidléar, RCNI executive director, said companies making money from his alcohol and other products need to look at whether they want to align themselves with a man found by a civil jury to have sexually assaulted a woman.
Ms Saidléar said on Monday that she had not heard anything back from retailers on the issue.
Separately the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre said following the jury decision on Friday, calls to the national helpline had almost doubled over the weekend while the number of first-time callers have increased by 50 per cent.
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