The real reason for rip-off Ireland?

antoinolachtnai

There is a lack of retail space in Ireland for supermarkets and this is a barrier for new entrants.

compsys

luckat wrote: »

I thought there was no VAT on food in Ireland - was I wrong?

No, you're not wrong. Most food in Ireland has no VAT. So when retailers and even people here use it as an excuse for the higher prices in the Republic you know they're probably talking sh*te...

DOS

An item we sell at €139.

Authorised Irish Distributer - €115 or €105 for 24 units or more.

An Irish company importing from the UK - €99 each - no limits on quantities ordered.

Take a look at all the distributers in Ireland and see what consortia are behind them and you'd be alarmed. There is a cartel going on, it's not wholesalers or retailers. Some of these consortia are involved very deeply with the Government too.

gerrycollins

luckat wrote: »

I thought there was no VAT on food in Ireland - was I wrong?

there is no VAT on baby food or fresh foods

compsys

Interesting article about Superquinn beginning to source goods from northern wholesalers in today's Sunday Business Post.

http://www.sbpost.ie/post/pages/p/story.aspx-qqqt=IRELAND-qqqm=nav-qqqid=39050-qqqx=1.asp

The following paragraph seems to confirm what I was claiming at the start of the thread:

However, Retail Excellence Ireland, which represents retailers across the country, said that wholesalers in the Republic could ‘‘become redundant’’ unless they made changes to their operations.

One independent retailer told The Sunday Business Post that retailers in the Republic were charged substantially more than retailers in the North for the same goods.

thebman

Guy I know works in a music store and we were in the new Tesco in maynooth.

They were selling Sennheiser headphones for 40 Euro. Their shop was charging 65 Euro. They said this to the only distributor for Ireland who said Tesco weren't on their books so they were sourcing from the UK.

Turned out Tesco were buying Irish stock in the UK and shipping it over because it worked out cheaper.

Says a lot really. I think there is almost no competition in the wholesale market here so people are getting screwed as a result.

foggy_lad

a local shop here in Carlow on the dublin road was selling 2ltr of milk for over €3.30. this is why ireland is f&*ked. they sell at that price encourages other shops to put their price up to €3 or more which spreads around the town and this is happening nationwide so Greedy shopkeepers are to blame!

darc

olaola wrote: »

http://www.forfas.ie/media/The%20Cost%20of%20Running%20Retail%20Operations%20in%20Ireland.pdf

"Our analysis highlights that higher operating costs in Ireland add approximately 5-6 percent to the total cost base of retailers in Dublin versus those operating in Belfast"

That report was done when sterling was at 79p / euro. @ 94p / euro, the rent, rates, staffing cost differences have changed by 15%

Rent rates & staff account for on average 30% of retail overheads in general retail and up to 60% in food service.

compsys

Interesting and highly informative article on today's RTE news website. Completely confirms what I suggested at the start of this thread. Ridiculous to think that Irish-produced good are being sold by wholesalers to retail outlets in England at a far cheaper price than they are here.


Representatives of the retail trade have been appearing before the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Enterprise, Trade and Employment...

Cormac Tobin, head of the largest pharmacy chain Unicare, claimed that some biscuits cost more than twice as much here as in Britain. He said McVities biscuits here cost 220% of what they would cost in Britain, while the price of a Colgate toothbrush was 74% dearer and Pampers baby wipes were 40% dearer.

Mr Tobin said had tried to persuade Irish distributors to cut prices following the fall in the value of sterling, but most had refused. He believed the only way prices would come down was when retailers named and shamed the distributors responsible for the high prices.

Retailer group RGDATA told the committee a tin of baby food - SMA Gold - made in Dublin costs a retailer €11.24 - but it can be bought in England for €8.72. Jim Marshall, a director of the group, said other prices here were also much higher.

He said a packet of Mach 3 razor blades cost €9.88 from the Irish distributor - but can be bought for €6.87 abroad.
John Foy, president of RGDATA, said he had been buying bottles of 7Up - which is produced in the Republic - in the North for 40 cent a bottle cheaper than he could get here. But he claimed the supply was cut off after the Northern agent came under pressure for selling into the Republic.

I have to say it actually annoys me that Irish supermarkets try to source produce locally rather than get the best price. It appears a lot of products could be sourced far cheaper in Britain and some of these would actually be Irish anyway! It's crazy that Irish food etc. is being offerred at far more competitive wholesale rates in Britain than it is here. Source the food in Britiain I say. When we buy it we're still supporting Irish jobs and Irish produce as a lot of it is made here!

thebman

I can't believe they are being so greedy. There won't be anyone to distribute to if they continue at this rate :rolleyes:

rubadub

foggy_lad wrote: »

a local shop here in Carlow on the dublin road was selling 2ltr of milk for over €3.30. this is why ireland is f&*ked. they sell at that price encourages other shops to put their price up to €3 or more which spreads around the town

Have the other shops really copied them? I cannot imagine big queues of customers out the door who can't wait to snap up this milk.

If people are not buying it they will have to reduce the price, especially on perishables like milk. Perhaps some idiot is buying it from them though, that is there problem. Unless the person has some mental defect then the retailer is really doing no wrong, he could probably make far more profit by selling at a reasonable price (and hence have a far greater turnover).

Rebel021

compsys wrote: »

Interesting and highly informative article on today's RTE news website. Completely confirms what I suggested at the start of this thread. Ridiculous to think that Irish-produced good are being sold by wholesalers to retail outlets in England at a far cheaper price than they are here.


Representatives of the retail trade have been appearing before the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Enterprise, Trade and Employment...

Cormac Tobin, head of the largest pharmacy chain Unicare, claimed that some biscuits cost more than twice as much here as in Britain. He said McVities biscuits here cost 220% of what they would cost in Britain, while the price of a Colgate toothbrush was 74% dearer and Pampers baby wipes were 40% dearer.

Mr Tobin said had tried to persuade Irish distributors to cut prices following the fall in the value of sterling, but most had refused. He believed the only way prices would come down was when retailers named and shamed the distributors responsible for the high prices.

Retailer group RGDATA told the committee a tin of baby food - SMA Gold - made in Dublin costs a retailer €11.24 - but it can be bought in England for €8.72. Jim Marshall, a director of the group, said other prices here were also much higher.

He said a packet of Mach 3 razor blades cost €9.88 from the Irish distributor - but can be bought for €6.87 abroad.
John Foy, president of RGDATA, said he had been buying bottles of 7Up - which is produced in the Republic - in the North for 40 cent a bottle cheaper than he could get here. But he claimed the supply was cut off after the Northern agent came under pressure for selling into the Republic.

I have to say it actually annoys me that Irish supermarkets try to source produce locally rather than get the best price. It appears a lot of products could be sourced far cheaper in Britain and some of these would actually be Irish anyway! It's crazy that Irish food etc. is being offerred at far more competitive wholesale rates in Britain than it is here. Source the food in Britiain I say. When we buy it we're still supporting Irish jobs and Irish produce as a lot of it is made here!

Saw that last night on the Orichteas report