Dundalk Leader article about shopping up North

hellboy99

Just after reading the front page and page 11 of the Dundalk Leader with regards to the recent increase of people from Dundalk going up North for their shopping, and I have to say it comes across as a very threatening article towards the people of the town.

Here are a few parts from the article:

Hundreds of people in Dundalk stand to lose their jobs this Christmas if people from the town continue to travel north for their christmas shopping. It has to stop and stop now!
If you shop over the borded this Christmas you are depriving your town of vital money, the traders here of job creating trade, our council of vital taxes and ultimately you are killing your own town and the jobs of those in it.....

If you the people who live in this community support your town you will save the town and it's jobs. Residents in the Dundalk area are blessed to have no local taxes to pay whtsoever, all local services are provider free of charge by Dundalk Town Council......

If the northern shopping frenzycontinues, local traders will no longer be able to properly pay these taxes and the council will have to consider reintroducing local residential taxes on each home such as water charges to balance their budget.

There's an excuses for the council to charge local taxes :rolleyes:

It then goes onto say:

Human beings will always say, "look for the bargins", but would you take a bargin even if that meant that one of your friends or family would lose their jobs over it?

If you know people who are travelling to the north for their shopping, it is up to you to say, "People here are losing their jobs and you are contributing to it."
If any member of your family takes the option and travels to Newry or elsewhere in the north then they have no right to complain about affairs here, because they are the ones who gave their money across the border.

The economic downfall is our fault and we are the ones now that will have to stop shopping around for bargins, just as Mary Harney told us to do, we now have to shop here in the town/south be robbed blind and live on "bread, jam and beans" all to save jobs and business, what a load of ***** !
We're in a recession and coming up to Christmas if the business's of Dundalk/Ireland haven't noticed, drop prices, lower the cost of living, help the many people that are struggeling to make ends meet, don't expect us to help when we are suffering too.

Dundalkeye

i agree with hellboy 100% all the dundalk leader is worried about is losing there precious advertisers. also the leader says in this weeks paper that we should spend our money in Dundalk well why is there adverts for 041 numbers in it i counted about 7 and also whats the first thing you see as you drive into Dundalk a big sign for the quays in newry. ( up at the old shopping center)

jprender

I do all my shopping up north now.

Much better value, it is as simple as that.

Retailers down here will just have to learn. Lower their margins and be competitive.


My petrol costs are more than covered by not having to pay parking charges in the Marshes.


It's all a wee bit silly really.

Wertz

I came on to the board to post something about this (and the Leader in general) and I find someone else has started a thread. Great minds, etc.
You raise all the points I was going to and I've nothing really to add.
I'd love to know who runs this "newspaper" that I'm lumbered with every week, what their real interest is here with this article...

As for Dundalk retailers? As I've said in other threads across the site on this issue, it's not a new one for the town...the flow of business across the border has always been there, but when the recent large numbers started in the past 2 or so years, where were the reactions by local retailers and businesses back then? Where was the attempt to cut prices to remain competitive? Oh that's right, we were all up our necks in cash and it didn't matter.
This is not a new problem and it's not up to consumers to fix it.
Why on earth should we pay 20-30% over the odds for the exact same products sometimes bought from the same companies for the supposed benefit of supporting council rates and local employment? Why is it a business in Newry can sell me something for X amount, pay it's staff, it's rates, it's overheads and still turn a profit, but the same business in Dundalk has to sell it to me for Y amount, that amount Y being on average 20% more expensive by the time the same business expenses are taken into account. Please don't quote 6% VAT rate difference or wage variations...they do NOT account for the price differentials and I have yet to see it proved otherwise despite repeated attempts by people to do so both on these forums and in the media.
When you see moves like the council increasing on-street parking fees in the town last night (by ~17%) it makes you wonder if the interests of shoppers and locals are taken into account at all.

FWIW I still do my basic weekly shopping here but I spend prudently and I make a point of trying to buy anything where there is a large price difference up North. Any electronics, a lot of clothing and other less regular purchases I've been making online for years anyhow, all money which has left the State...what a lot of people don't seem to realise is that when you buy your Japanese electronics or your American clothing, that the bulk of the cost of the item leaves the country anyhow...the difference in price is solely down to the added overheads of tax, wages, profit and rates. Why should I or anyone else basically pay a middleman a 30%+ margin on an item I can source for cheaper elsewhere?

I'd rate the Leader as being marginally more interesting than Alive and marginally less smug than the Argus weekender, but that's about the height of it. Can't say I'd miss any of them if someone glued my letterbox shut...

hellboy99

It's certainly far from being a fair and balanced report.

bush Baby

Its gas - that writer would be better employed pointing that rant at his local Fianna Fail TD. Rip off Ireland is alive and well and the only thing that will put manners on it is price parity. UK VAT is at 15% Irish VAT is at 21%, wouldn't that be a start?? Drink manufactured here is cheaper in the north after transport costs are added?? Why?

I could go on but I have a headache, better go to Lidl in Newry to get some paracetamol at 26p per pack.

Dundalkeye

just a thought would the the leader and the likes be a form of illegal dumping can i put my rubbish in your letter box and get away with it? lol

Wertz

I'm sure they'd argue that they provide a service free of charge to local consumers, that they provide local employment and that their business model depends on this practice.
An Post have been delivering unsolicited mailshots for years now and no-one's tried to curtail them.
TBH I have far more of a problem with "charity" bag stickers coming in the door every other day than I have with free papers...at least you can recycle the papers...

Dundalkeye

thats a good point them charity bag stickers are a pain and most of them are a scam

Dundalkeye

http://dundalkslander.blogspot.com/ Come on people we cant let this happen lol

TommyT

Dundalkeye wrote: »

http://dundalkslander.blogspot.com/ Come on people we cant let this happen lol

Whatever happened to the "El Paso Times" ?

Wertz

Didn't vodafone use their long reach to have it pulled from it's US hosting server after some allegations made against their Dundalk based call centre? I know it was kept going for a wee while after that but had lost any teeth it had by then...

Ann22

The new Call of Duty game-World at war is €70 in Zavvy but only £34.95 in Sainsburys. What's that in euro? About €40?

XenonMan

I have even better one.Been searching for new tv for good few months,and at last i made mine mind.Samsung 40' LCD full HD,here in Harvey 1200 and in Belfast richer Sounds 709 sterling which is 815 euro thats stagering 385 euro.Why should i pay more for the same goods?
Local retailers get you prices down,and we will be happy shoping here,close to our houms

hellboy99

@ XenonMan

Same here got a Samsung myself a few months back, went to Currys in Belfast to get it as it worked out near €400 cheaper than Currys here in the town, absolute joke.
Didn't see any PS3 games in Currys here reduced to under €10 either a while back when they were all reduced in Currys up north to £4.97 & £9.97.

peaches79

It actually sounds verbatim like the article in the drogheda leader last week.
I also thought it was a bit rich. Was very sensationalist, though should that surprise me with the leader?

Biggins

peaches79 wrote: »

It actually sounds verbatim like the article in the drogheda leader last week.
I also thought it was a bit rich. Was very sensationalist, though should that surprise me with the leader?

Read that. Over the top to say the least. The Drogheda Leader knows that if shops fail, thus there goes some businesses that advertise with them.
They are not worried about you or I, just their own ass in the long run.

Some Drogheda shops have been ripping off their own towns people for ages and now the exact same shop owners are crying out!

Simple example: Wife and I bought a buggy (from British business) for 130 Euro (+ post +carriage at another 30 Euro) = Total 160 Euro.
Exact same buggy in Drogheda was 350.

Now if the Drogheda Leader is willing to pay the difference between the English price and Drogheda price, I'm quite willing to buy it in the town.

If the shops drop their huge margins of pure profit and stop ripping folk off (whom are very angry for some time), maybe we'd stick to south of the border.
As it is, the expensive shops are reaping what they have only sown!

I for one, am not bailing out the rip-off merchants.
If they go down the pan, its no loss.

aquascrotum

The Leader would be better placed telling their advertisers to cut prices before questioning their readers loyalties when they choose not to pay a 30% premium on just about everything for the privelege of being Oirish.

The GF's car failed the NCT on wheel alignment. Rang a few tyre places in Drogheda, cheapest I got was E48 (dearest was E60!!). First place I rang over the border, £10 (about E12 at the mo.) Where the hell is the justification for the 300% markup??

peaches79

Totally agree- it's just karma in my books
We go up every few wks. It seems as though every shop in the south has a pricing cartel going on babyfood. It's always 12-15 euro a tin. 8.95 sterling or less in the north.

Now, when u have twins and double that- I'll have those savings in my pocket thank you Drogheda Leader.

NicholasJackman

Marginally better than the Argus Weekender. Please.

Yes the article is bias, it is a campaigning piece.

Wertz

NicholasJackman wrote: »

Marginally better than the Argus Weekender. Please.

Yes the article is bias, it is a campaigning piece.

Is that a response to this..?

Me wrote:

I'd rate the Leader as being marginally more interesting than Alive and marginally less smug than the Argus weekender

...or is the weekender running a similar chicken licken type article on it's pages as well?

louthandproud

Dundalkeye wrote: »

thats a good point them charity bag stickers are a pain and most of them are a scam

Not most, all!

conair01

by the look of thing the dundalk leader was right with when it printed the article before xmas

"Superquinn is to close its Dundalk store in Carroll Village, shedding 67 local jobs in the process.

The supermarket chain has blamed 'recent developments in cross-border shopping' for its decision, which is part of a nationwide cost-cutting plan.

As well as shutting the Dundalk store, the company are planning to axe 12 per cent of its staff, with expected job losses of around 400. "
the Argus newspaper:rolleyes:

hellboy99

Nothing to do with cross-border shopping, they are just too expensive and the Marshes has took a lot of custome away from there too.

bottomdog

Well well, the Leader got it right, Superquinn Jobs lost, so sad and it has everything to do with cross border shopping. as the SQ manager said. The retailers cannot compete on three levels, we have a much higher minimum wage hereª over €8 compared to over 5 STG in the north, also VAT is less in the North, so its not greddy traders but rather the environment, of course the Leader took the local business view, it's their advertisers. BUT......in a word SUPERQUINN......No arguement , the LEADER WAS RIGHT arfter all...enjoy your cans of sansbury's beer....you neightbour is on the dole.....CHEERS

delly

bottomdog wrote: »

Well well, the Leader got it right, Superquinn Jobs lost, so sad and it has everything to do with cross border shopping. as the SQ manager said. The retailers cannot compete on three levels, we have a much higher minimum wage hereª over €8 compared to over 5 STG in the north, also VAT is less in the North, so its not greddy traders but rather the environment, of course the Leader took the local business view, it's their advertisers. BUT......in a word SUPERQUINN......No arguement , the LEADER WAS RIGHT arfter all...enjoy your cans of sansbury's beer....you neightbour is on the dole.....CHEERS

So why the fuk is Aldi opening a second outlet in Dundalk if everybody is heading North of the border eh? Because they have a decent business model.

Superquinn have been too slow to react over recent years to the change in the Irish market. They used to be high priced but with great customer service, so people still shopped there. Now they are just high priced with the same level of service you get anywhere, so its no wonder people stay away. They should take a leaf out of Aer Lingus's book and study the low cost model and adapt some of there methods.

hellboy99

bottomdog wrote: »

Well well, the Leader got it right, Superquinn Jobs lost, so sad and it has everything to do with cross border shopping. as the SQ manager said. The retailers cannot compete on three levels, we have a much higher minimum wage hereª over €8 compared to over 5 STG in the north, also VAT is less in the North, so its not greddy traders but rather the environment, of course the Leader took the local business view, it's their advertisers. BUT......in a word SUPERQUINN......No arguement , the LEADER WAS RIGHT arfter all...enjoy your cans of sansbury's beer....you neightbour is on the dole.....CHEERS

SQ manager says they couldn't compete, why the hell couldn't they lower their expensive prices, afterall they source most of the products from wholesalers in the North rather than the Republic.

The only reasons why they are closing in the town is because they are too expensive / greedy, and the Marshes has took a lot of busniess away from that side of the town, nothing to do with cross-border shopping. Their own employees will not shop in the store because they are too expensive.

Personally I'm getting really fed-up at this stage with hearing "cross-border shopping is the cause for a lot of job loses", the sole cause of it is greed, be it from high rents to service charges, profiteering and a government that has failed to act.

If the Leader or anyone else for that matter want to go ahead and make such statements as "cross-border shopping is closing us down", I suggest they go and do some research first and find out why people are going up north and why here in the south we are been fleeced.

soups05

from the argus jan 28th

A former manager at Superquinn Dundalk says the closure of the supermarket cannot be blamed solely on the impact of cross border shopping, but on the scaling down of the store in recent times.
Martin McArdle, who worked for Superquinn for over 30 years before retiring in 2002 told the Argus 'It is a sad day for Dundalk, that Superquinn came to the town as a world class company, and will leave it as a pauper.'
He criticised the statement by Superquinn's new owners claiming the number of shoppers heading north of the border to shop had left the company with no alternative but to close their Dundalk store.
'The currency difference has always been part of the cut and thrust of trading along the border. When I left Superquinn, it was a thriving store, but it has completely scaled down in recent years. I think they took their eye off the ball.'
He added that initially there had been well over 200 staff employed at the Carroll Village supermarket, but that had been vastly reduced to 67 in recent times.
'I think the ethos of the store really changed. Superquinn used to be a fresh food empire, and it brought the customers in. But that has changed a lot, especially over the last 12 months.'
Mr McArdle led the launch of the store in the new Carroll Village Shopping Centre in February 1999, when hopes were high for the return of the former Quinnsworth to Dundalk.'
'It was always about putting the customer first. For example, we were the first to introduce the traceability system, where we could tell people exactly what farm the meat originated from.
'Customers really responded to that, they wanted good quality fresh produce, and Superquinn were always able to provide it.'
He said some of the changes in recent years 'may have been to do with the fact that the new owners were non-grocers.
'Fergal Quinn was the person who transformed grocery shopping in Ireland, by always knowing what the customer wanted, and ensuring it was available to them.'

soups05

oh and by the way, i will enjoy my cans of ALDI beer thanks. i bought them with the money i saved by going up north to buy a tv and not paying an extra 300 euro here thanks.
and to further my point....i work in a local shop,the owner buys his stock up north and still charges much more for it down here.

tray of red bull, 24 cans for 24 euro in south wholesalers....12.78 up north.

retail price.......2.15 euro PER CAN!!!!!


rip off republic is right. if the shop closes then its not my fault, or the fault of my ex-customers.

its the greed of the owner.

tonym467

I'v been imployed in construction for over 20 years in dundalk ,unemployed now, and am sick of people, IE chamber of commerce,news papers, councillors and TDs.:mad:
They are asking all of us to stay loyal to to the businesses in the town,so that we save jobs.Drive around town and have a look at all the goverment and local council projects that are ongoing. Most are tendered to companies from the north who import all their concrete,stone,blocks and much more without having to pay vat. tax,prsi and wages going north.:mad::mad::mad:
Council must feel good to get bargains like that.
You can't keep the Irish down.:cool::cool:

Clam

Wertz wrote: »

I came on to the board to post something about this (and the Leader in general) and I find someone else has started a thread. Great minds, etc.
You raise all the points I was going to and I've nothing really to add.
I'd love to know who runs this "newspaper" that I'm lumbered with every week, what their real interest is here with this article...

As for Dundalk retailers? As I've said in other threads across the site on this issue, it's not a new one for the town...the flow of business across the border has always been there, but when the recent large numbers started in the past 2 or so years, where were the reactions by local retailers and businesses back then? Where was the attempt to cut prices to remain competitive? Oh that's right, we were all up our necks in cash and it didn't matter.
This is not a new problem and it's not up to consumers to fix it.
Why on earth should we pay 20-30% over the odds for the exact same products sometimes bought from the same companies for the supposed benefit of supporting council rates and local employment? Why is it a business in Newry can sell me something for X amount, pay it's staff, it's rates, it's overheads and still turn a profit, but the same business in Dundalk has to sell it to me for Y amount, that amount Y being on average 20% more expensive by the time the same business expenses are taken into account. Please don't quote 6% VAT rate difference or wage variations...they do NOT account for the price differentials and I have yet to see it proved otherwise despite repeated attempts by people to do so both on these forums and in the media.
When you see moves like the council increasing on-street parking fees in the town last night (by ~17%) it makes you wonder if the interests of shoppers and locals are taken into account at all.

I'd rate the Leader as being marginally more interesting than Alive and marginally less smug than the Argus weekender, but that's about the height of it. Can't say I'd miss any of them if someone glued my letterbox shut...

But the answer is that simple, we have the highest cost of living in europe, we had more wages we had more spend, Look we can buy anything in japan or thailand for cheaper because its a lower cost of living, Britain has had one of the lowest costs of living in europe in the last few years, the cost add up, Our mini-um wage packet here is 8 quid, 7 pound, britian has a minimum wage is 4.65, that adds up, We shot ourselves in the foot though, If we want stuff for cheaper we gotta work for less, or not work at all