Tesco to charge Sterling prices on groceries in border stores

Tech3

bcirl03 wrote: »

Even if they are selling the goods cheaper I'll still be going up north.

They have been ripping us off for years, why go now just because they are suffering.

The 3 Tesco stores near me are always filthy, stock out of date, rotting, staff unhelpful.

Thanks, but no thanks Tesco.

True but it wont be the case. For example in Sligo I can see shoppers now buying in Tesco again as travelling that awful road to Enniskillen wont be needed. If the prices drop by 20% it will be more in line with the North but with 15% VAT rate.

Its all about convenience and if prices are similar I can see people buying their shopping back in the republic again.

hellboy99

Still cheaper up north, and I'll continue to shop there.

Here's some of the new prices as of from today:

Tesco South - Caburys Twirl 5 pk - €2.00
Tesco North - Caburys Twirl 5 pk - £1.00 (€1.13)

Tesco South - Tesco Garden Peas 1kg - €1.79
Tesco North - Tesco Garden Peas 1kg - £1.50 (€1.69)

Tesco South - Nestle Cheerios 600g - €3.45
Tesco North - Nestle Cheerios 600g - £2.78 (€3.14)

Tesco South - Milupa Aptamil Follow on Milk 900g - €9.65
Tesco North - Milupa Aptamil Follow on Milk 900g - £7.90 (€8.92)

Tesco South - Lynx Africa Bodyspray 150ml - €2.85
Tesco North - Lynx Africa Bodyspray 150ml - £2.28 (€2.57)

Tesco South - Elvive Colour Protect Shampoo 400ml - €3.99
Tesco North - Elvive Colour Protect Shampoo 400ml - £3.16 (€3.56)

Tesco South - Gillette Venus 4 Blades - €6.89
Tesco North - Gillette Venus 4 Blades - £5.80 (€6.54)

Tesco South - Plenty White Kitchen Towel 2 roll - €1.99
Tesco North - Plenty White Kitchen Towel 2 roll - £1.00 (€1.13)

Phester

Ya: The Irish goods issue seems to me to be a smoke screen.

The truth is on some goods they are up to 100% dearer than in the UK. Even allowing for tax difference, transport and labor costs I don't think it would cost that on a packet of biscuits. made in England.


I wonder if there is any Irish product that we count find significantly cheaper in the UK and we could stuff the whole story up their B*M.

K-9

hellboy99 wrote: »

Still cheaper up north, and I'll continue to shop there.

Here's some of the new prices as of from today:

Most of them prices are competitive. Great news and it will put pressure on the competition and Irish manufacturers to match them. Great stuff.

schween

Phester wrote: »

The truth is on some goods they are up to 100% dearer than in the UK. Even allowing for tax difference, transport and labor costs I don't think it would cost that on a packet of biscuits. made in England.

I saw a Tesco Finest Vegetable Tart the other day... a sticker for £2.09 was on the side of it yet it was €6.50 or thereabouts. Absolutely outrageous markup. This is a Tesco own brand product, why is this so dear?

gonker

It was like christmas eve this evening in Tesco Extra in Drogheda:eek:. Cereal we normally buy at 4.04 is down to 3.50odd and jar sauces a good 50c off just had a quick look though.

Oracle

I was listening to the item on Tesco on Pat Kenny this morning. I got the impression Tesco plan on applying this format to all their stores in the Republic.

68 lost souls

Well since they are now sourcing everything in the UK rather then Ireland now it makes sense that this is what they were doing, anyone could have figured that out. Still boycot them, use superquinn instead.

Blisterman

Tesco own brand freshly squeezed orange juice is £1.40 a litre in my nearest tesco in Central London.

I was in Tesco in Dublin last week and it was €3.70 or so.

No wonder people shop in the North. That's over twice as expensive.

Oracle

Agreed Blisterman, the difference in prices is huge, plus we get very few of the special offers that Tesco give in the UK.

shilly-shally

Well it’s a step in the right direction.
even though, think I'll still be making my trips to Asda

Dellas

As above , a step in the right direction but Im still going to shop at Sainsburys and ASDA. I have got used to it and its actually an enjoyable day out. Also going to B&Q tomorrow to buy an electric shower.

South : €365

North : £225

Even at the rate of 1.16 to buy STG its over €100 in the difference.

JHMEG

Is that southern price for B&Q? I thought they were better than that and had stopped using the 1.5x price multiplier that the likes of Argos still use, and were closer to 1.2x or so.

Famous45

Went to Tesco in Drogheda yesterday and was delighted to see some of the changes. Drink wasn't affected really at all, a euro off here or there but nothing that would cause me to buy.

But I think my days shopping in the north will be few and far between and I've been raving about shopping down there ever since I started months ago. The hair product I use which was €6.30+ here was €3.30+ in NI, now it's only €3.10 in Tesco, half the price it was, Andrex Quilts were €8.69 in NI they were €5.50+, now €6.30 in Tesco. Other hair products that my partner uses were 2-3 euro down in price and on a par with Sainsburys. Toothpaste, tablets and that actually cheaper than NI. Ceasar Salad used to be €3.25 comapared to £2 in Sainsburys now only €2 in Tesco. Peppers, grapes, pineapple all cheaper than Sainsbury's. I didn't price Lamb or other meat products, I think i'll continue to buy my Lamb in Newry in future as it's pretty delicious and the price is spot on.

After my trip to Tesco I went to Tesco's in Banbridge as I thought there was a £7 deal on the booze which I seen on tv, to my dismay it ended on the 4th May, anyway managed to pick up 40 bottles of Bud for €27 which wasn't too bad. Looked at the prices there compared to Drogheda and most things were only 10-20c cheaper and given the extra vat here it prob works out the same pretty much.

Overall, the difference on items is very little, for what I buy anyway, and considering we prob spend in access of €15 on petrol every week to go shopping in NI plus the few hours of travel, I think shopping in Tesco in Drogheda will even itself out from now onwards.

Thumbs up to Tesco!!

Famous45

The 3 Tesco stores near me are always filthy, stock out of date, rotting, staff unhelpful

Thankfully the Drogheda branch is spanking new, for now anyway and actually enjoyable to shop in but on previous occasions they have failed to restock the shelves especially in the early evening time, I hope they don't continue this with the shoppers now back on their side. I agree with the stock out of date, last time I was there I was shocked to see so much stuff out of date.

The Tesco that I was in at Banbridge yesterday was a state, it's was filthy, the wheels were even falling off all the trolleys. Sainsburys in Newry isn't much better, the place looks like a war zone.

I actually enjoy shopping in Sainsburys in Lisburn, it's very pleasant and will continue to do so once a month, but the weekly pilgrimage across the border is out of the question now for me.

Gran Hermano

68 lost souls wrote: »

Well since they are now sourcing everything in the UK rather then Ireland now it makes sense that this is what they were doing, anyone could have figured that out. Still boycot them, use superquinn instead.

Superquinn have also switched to buying from wholesalers in N Ireland
http://archives.tcm.ie/businesspost/2009/01/25/story39050.asp

Supermarket chain Superquinn has begun buying goods from wholesalers in the North rather than the Republic in order to cut costs.

The retailer has sourced British-made products from the Belfast operation of Makro, a major European wholesaler. Sources said that the move enabled Superquinn to save up to 25 per cent compared with sourcing the same products in the Republic.

Can't say I've noticed Superquinn dropping their prices by 25%.

hellboy99

Gran Hermano wrote: »

Superquinn have also switched to buying from wholesalers in N Ireland.

They have been doing that for years.

Jip

Gran Hermano wrote: »

Superquinn have also switched to buying from wholesalers in N Ireland
http://archives.tcm.ie/businesspost/2009/01/25/story39050.asp



Can't say I've noticed Superquinn dropping their prices by 25%.

OMG !!!!!!!!!! Shame on Superquinn. I for one will be boycotting them from now on. Won't somebody please think of the suppliers. Now, which supermarked can I go to where all the food is produced Irish by manufacturers supplied only by Irish distributors.

bk

Jip wrote: »

OMG !!!!!!!!!! Shame on Superquinn. I for one will be boycotting them from now on. Won't somebody please think of the suppliers. Now, which supermarked can I go to where all the food is produced Irish by manufacturers supplied only by Irish distributors.

Why would you want to do that?

Surely the Irish distributors are just ripping you off, if the UK distributors are charging 25% less for the same products, sourced from the same suppliers in Ireland?

Fair enough if you want to say that you want to only buy Irish products, but the distributor should be irrelevant, it is just a warehouse and maybe a few trucks after all.

Did you not read the last line of the article, how can you justify this?

The Forfás research concluded that higher operating costs added approximately 5 to 6 per cent to the total cost base of retailers operating in Dublin compared to Belfast. However, there can be differences of up to 50 per cent in prices.

hellboy99

Here's a useful site to compare prices:

http://www.mysupermarket.co.uk/

Oracle

I'm not from the North myself, but I do think it's questionable that people who shop in the North, or companies who source goods in the North are portrayed as unpatriotic.

Firstly, many people who live in the North (and I'm sure lots of them work in the retail and distributive trades) consider themselves to be Irish. Secondly, the money spent is going into the Northern Irish economy, not into the economy of say, Greater Manchester. The money is still being spent on the island of Ireland. Surely thats what the Good Friday Agreement, and the Peace Process was all about.

The businesses in Dublin and surrounding areas, enjoy a huge tourism spend, from all parts of Ireland, the UK and beyond. If everyone was to go around begrudging other parts of the country business we'd all be worse off. The people who live, work and have businesses in the North deserve our support.

Gran Hermano

Sorry Oracle I disagree with you as money spent in Northern Ireland goes into the same pot as money spent in London or Newcastle. It pays for healthcare in Manchester rather than Mullingar.
Whilst I do most of my purchasing online from foreign vendors, including GB based shops, and I have no problem feeling 'unpatriotic' but I don't think you can say money spent up north benefits the Irish economy unless you're counting the tax raised on petrol to drive up.

denat

Oracle wrote: »

I'm not from the North myself, but I do think it's questionable that people who shop in the North, or companies who source goods in the North are portrayed as unpatriotic.

I agree. Furthermore, I think it's hypocritical for anyone who aspires to a united Ireland to oppose trade across an artificially and arbitrarily created border on the island.

Dellas

JHMEG wrote: »

Is that southern price for B&Q? I thought they were better than that and had stopped using the 1.5x price multiplier that the likes of Argos still use, and were closer to 1.2x or so.

Went today and bought it in Sprucefield. Furthermore they had a 10% discount card and I now get everything with an extra 10% off until end of May. Im doing some DIY so will come in handy for paint etc...

They had the Dulux Paint pod 2 x 5 Ltrs for £40 , they were £60 . Plus an extra 10% off with the card.

They also had Electric ovens which were £499 now £250 . Im thinking of getting one next week. Mine needs replacing anyway. Its certainly a buyers market at the moment.

query08

We need to support the irish economy, and buying in companies that source in the Uk or europe is wrong. We cant sit and complain about job losses in the irish economy (in the retail industry anyhow) if we are the ones giving other countries our money. Dunnes & superquinn are the only retailers who now source over 90% of their products in ireland (superquinn higher percentage). Superquinn currently running an Irish promotion where they have reduced hte prices on products bought in ireland and that are popular with the irish people. Soon we will no longer see irish products such as Lyons tea on sale in our stores if people continue to purchase from Tesco etc. There shelves are now full of PJ Tips tea etc, and very little space to Lyons tea! :mad: Not happy!!
Support our own and boycott retailers sourcing in UK!

wmpdd3

Do aldi or Lidl sell Lyons tea? Atleast other supermarkets put these brands on the shelves, if people buy them they will stay on the shelves.

1huge1

query08 wrote: »

We need to support the irish economy, and buying in companies that source in the Uk or europe is wrong. We cant sit and complain about job losses in the irish economy (in the retail industry anyhow) if we are the ones giving other countries our money. Dunnes & superquinn are the only retailers who now source over 90% of their products in ireland (superquinn higher percentage). Superquinn currently running an Irish promotion where they have reduced hte prices on products bought in ireland and that are popular with the irish people. Soon we will no longer see irish products such as Lyons tea on sale in our stores if people continue to purchase from Tesco etc. There shelves are now full of PJ Tips tea etc, and very little space to Lyons tea! :mad: Not happy!!
Support our own and boycott retailers sourcing in UK!

Don't you understand that the reason there starting to source food from abroad is because they are getting ripped off by the irish producers, the irish producers are inefficient, making huge profits or wages are too high.

Ireland has lost so much of its competiveness over the last 9 years and I welcome this move by Tesco as it will make the Irish producer make the cost cutting measures it needs to take to become competive once again.

This is how we'll help the economy... its the long run that matters.

K-9

wmpdd3 wrote: »

Do aldi or Lidl sell Lyons tea? Atleast other supermarkets put these brands on the shelves, if people buy them they will stay on the shelves.

Tea is an area most Irish people will not change from their preferred brand. I think the reason Tesco are testing the border areas first, is to see how loyal Irish people are to "Irish" brands. Think we tend to be far more brand conscious than other countries, whether that's because of snobbery or a throwback to the Guarenteed Irish days, I'm not sure.

As for the shopping in NI is patriotic argument, fair enough. NI will be grand without your money. Brown and the Queen will continue to subsidise the North, we don't have that comfort.

PS: Just how Irish some of these brand are, I don't know. Remember Galtee getting the sausages and rashers sent back in the pork scare from America last year. There reply was "it's grand, sure it isn't Irish pork!" ???????

brightkane

query08 wrote: »

We need to support the irish economy, and buying in companies that source in the Uk or europe is wrong. We cant sit and complain about job losses in the irish economy (in the retail industry anyhow) if we are the ones giving other countries our money. Dunnes & superquinn are the only retailers who now source over 90% of their products in ireland (superquinn higher percentage). Superquinn currently running an Irish promotion where they have reduced hte prices on products bought in ireland and that are popular with the irish people. Soon we will no longer see irish products such as Lyons tea on sale in our stores if people continue to purchase from Tesco etc. There shelves are now full of PJ Tips tea etc, and very little space to Lyons tea! :mad: Not happy!!
Support our own and boycott retailers sourcing in UK!

to be frank and completely honest from my point of view, i will buy where evers cheaper, lidl, asda, sainsburys whoever,
shocking as it may be the bottom line to me is my bottom dollar, whats cheapest to me and whats left in my pocket, i have sympathy for people that have lost jobs because of people becoming more price concious but things arent going to change radically enough for me to "shop local". i have my family to think about and its my priority. I might lose my job tomorrow, i dont expect people to jump and buy into my industry if going over the border is cheaper.

skywalker_208

brightkane wrote: »

to be frank and completely honest from my point of view, i will buy where evers cheaper, lidl, asda, sainsburys whoever,

I am exactly the same.. north/south/asda/dunnes.. I dont care. I usually wonder around them all... pick up any bargains or deals that particular shop might have. And if they are selling something I know I can get cheaper elsewhere I will make a point of not buying it and going to the place that sells it cheaper!