IKEA Dublin

Ro-76

Originally posted by okidoki987
Ikea DO NOT SHIP to Ireland .
The only way you can get them to ship to Ireland is
to physically go to one of their stores pay for the goods, then bring the goods to the shipping counter where they will arrange delivery to Dublin, Cork or wherever
in Ireland.
That is the only way.

It's a cash and carry store. Even UK residents cannot order goods online, or by phone. That's the core of their business plan. Even the delivery desk is manned by third-party courier staff. Ikea do not ship anywhere except to their own stores. They just allow a courier company to rent space in their stores, and offer that service.

BTW, Glasgow is the only store that will actually ship to Ireland anyhow, and it can work out pricey. I probably bought about 10 trolley loads, which would have cost 580GBP to ship, as against about 400 euro for the van rental and ferry fare (minus the cost of a 2 flights if i hadn't taken the ferry).

I must say that i don't understand those who feel that competition from other companies is bad.

Ro

FinoBlad

Can someone explain to me why the Dublin Chamber of Commerce say they would welcome changing the rules to allow IKEA build the store they want to, if as you guys say that this would be bad for local business, the environment or whatever?

http://www.dubchamber.ie/press_release.asp?article=401

silent

are these 6000 sqm a limit on the ground a retail operation can occupy (incl carpark?) or is the retail space - 2 stories with 3K sqm each?
irregardless, it's a bad law and this cap should be lifted (maybe something normal like 20K?) IMHO. who made such a law is

seriously most irish shops are ridiculously small and those that are slightly bigger are too few.
a few 20-30K sqm shops somewhere in the suburbs of some bigger cities would do wonders (provided they pay for infrastucture and big car parks as well, which is standard in europe anyway)

vinnyfitz

Finoblad, the chamber will support raising the cap 'cos they want to be seen as "pro business". Only the very largest retailers joint the chamber in Dublin so they don't suffer from anti-competition pressure on this one. The chamber will count on others - planners etc to put the sustainability arguments into the mix. T

Silent, 6000 square metres is the size of the retail floor space, storage, car parking etc would be additional if I understand correctly.

Most Irish stores may in your opinion be much too small but they are nothing like 6000 sqm in size so it is their owners choices, not the planning cap which you ought be complaining about.

FinoBlad

vinnyfitz, both large and small retailers are in the DCC. They "are the voice of dublin business" so I'm sure they would state any opposition they have to it.

Ikea specialise in part time workers, they would employ over 500 people, taking people that cant work for whatever reason mon-fri 9to5 off the dole.

They provide highly designed decent quality furniture for all people, quite affordable. A lot of anti-IKEA people over here are rich and can buy what they like.

The government could also get over a million euro of VAT per year from the 13,000 northern people that travel to scotland every year, I'm certain they would come south, maybe even stay over a night. Haulage companies would benefit, shipping companies, this list goes on.

IKEA manufacture with concern for the environment and ensure that people manufacturing their goods are treated fair and fairly paid. They require suppliers to sign a corporate code of conduct, which mandates that all factories will refrain from using child labor or forced overtime, allow workers to organize, comply with basic health and safety standards, and set wages based on a level that nonprofit, third-party advocates deem a typical and good rate for the country.

vinnyfitz

Look, I'm in favour of IKEA coming to Ireland. I just do not swallow the story that it is not viable to run a store with less than 6000 square metres of retail space. In fact I have been in at at least one IKEA store aborad which is smaller.

BTW off topic really, but Dublin Chamber of Commerce has almost no small retail members. Take a look at its governing council for example It has a membership of 1,200 or so businesses out of perhaps 50,000 in the Dublin region. Most of the small companies in membership are in the services sector. Just 'cos it says its the voice of Dublin business does not mean it reflects all views.

FinoBlad

cool so point taken, its curious why you have to register with them to see who is a member, its like its a secret!

jesus_thats_gre

Originally posted by Muck
Newry is now a suburb of Dublin ?

M

Has it been opened in Newry yet?

FinoBlad

Has it been opened in Newry yet?

No, its not even definite they will open there.

Pataman

www.flatpackireland.com

sixtysix

anyone ever use them?

FinoBlad

they are very expensive

vinnyfitz

Someone told me they add 30% margin to the UK£ quoted price, build in a exchange rate margin to protect themselves - and then go off to Belgium and buy the stuff there at the cheaper € price with no exchange risk either - don't know if that is true though...

Can anyone confirm?

parsi

Originally posted by vinnyfitz
Someone told me they add 30% margin to the UK£ quoted price, build in a exchange rate margin to protect themselves - and then go off to Belgium and buy the stuff there at the cheaper € price with no exchange risk either - don't know if that is true though...

Can anyone confirm?

So what ?

They are providing a service.. if it is easy money lets all go and set ourselves up and do the same thing. After all they settle their price in advance so even if they are expensive you know that before you pay...

.. also Ikea prices vary bewteen countries - I compared the UK prices with the French prices before going to Nantes and some items were way dearer in France and some were cheaper ..so unless Mr Flatpack shuffles between stores there will always be an element of "swings 'n' roundabouts"..


(edit to change spelling)

Specky

"swings 'n' roundabouts"

I saw some swings but I don't think there was a flatpack roundabout....

Yep, 30% is an ok margin as long as they're doing volume but they are a business not a charity. Remember the cost of the stuff. You have to shift an awful lot of IKEA stuff to stay in business if you're only making 30% on it. Remember it costs the flatpacker guys more to do what they do than it costs IKEA. IKEA have an established infra-structure, the cost of which is essentially shared by the worldwide distribution network, they ship in massive bulk and they have massive turnover.

Unless I was sending a lorry back and forth to the UK every week for other highly profitable reasons and had a bit spare capacity I don't think I'd do what flatpackers do for 30%.

FinoBlad

Specy, how much would a run from dublin to cardiff and back with an artic lorry cost?

Specky

Specy, how much would a run from dublin to cardiff and back with an artic lorry cost?

Sorry FinoBlad, I'm not in the logistics business so I couldn't give you a price, but I can tell you there would be considerable variation in price if you shopped around. You'd be looking for a freight company based either here or in Cardiff that is currently running a weekly or fortnightly truck from Dublin to Cardiff, you'll get a good deal then because they'll be on the lookout for something to fill the truck with on the empty leg of the journey. Probably best off looking at the smaller hauliers as the big ones will just charge a flat rate regardless of whether they're filling spare capacity or not.

If you were shipping from the continent you might be better off with a container, many freight companies will actually sell capacity in containers so you don't have to fill a full one. They handle all the loading and paperwork you just have to arrange to get your stuff when it arrives here.

Slow is cheap, and the slower the cheaper.

If you were trucking the stuff you'd also want to watch the journey times though. Commercial drivers have to abide by the tachograph rules which restrict the number of hours per day they can drive. It may be cheaper/quicker to choose a route where the driver can get there and back in a day.

Also be aware of what people are saying about collection times at IKEA. A driver won't stand around waiting for a lorry load of stuff...well, he will if he's being paid to do so but why pay for a driver to do anything other than drive?

I'd say flatpacker's business needs a bit of organising to make it cost effective. Hence I wouldn't do it for 30% on a GBP5 lampshade.