When did Tesco actually enter the Irish market ?

Fr Tod Umptious

Found this about a supermarket strike in 1982

They mention Tesco.

Now I always though Tesco's first entry to the Irish market was in the late 1990s when they bought Quinnsworth and went from there.

But were they in Dublin as far back as 1982 ?

And if so, where ?

https://www.rte.ie/archives/2022/0309/1285327-dublin-supermarkets-reopen/

ohnonotgmail

this link says there was a separate group of stores called Tesco Ireland in the 1980s. I remember gubays and 3 guys but dont remember the name tesco being used for them.

https://academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Quinnsworth

Tesco Ireland was also the name of an earlier chain of stores in the Republic of Ireland owned by Tesco PLC in the early 1980s. These were originally founded by Albert Gubay as 3 Guys. In 1986, these were sold to the H Williams chain of supermarkets which subsequently collapsed. Many ended up as outlets of other chains.

GerardKeating

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058240667/when-did-tesco-actually-enter-the-irish-market

Tesco entered the Irish Market twice.

The first time they entered, they purchased a small supermarket chain 3 Guys which had been established by Albert Gubay, not sure when maybe late 70's. It failed after a year or two. I remember (as a kid) going with the parents a few times, but it was stocked exactly the same as a UK outlet, so no Irish brands like Barrys Tea, and the various irish brands of bread, only English brands, so we would shop there, and then go to H Williams or Dunnes for the Bread and Tea etc and after a few trips (like every one else) gave up on them.

Tesco Mark II came in 1997, when they bought "Quinnsworth" and "Crazy Prices".

I remember (on the ocasion of the take over) listening to an executive being interviewing on RTÉ (one that had come from Quinnsworth) and was asked why did Tesco think they would be successfull this time, when it had failed before, and he said something like, they had come to reailse that Irish Customers were just English Customers with Funny Accents"...

cml387

I remember Albert Gubay being on the Late Late Show before he opened the 3 guys chain and consequently gaining a lot of publicity.

The shops were very basic, a lot of stock was sold straight out of the outer box packaging.

They built their stores slightly out of some towns and some ( Mullingar is one at least) eventually became Tesco in their present form.

L1011

They had a fairly substantial number of stores (22) before quitting in the late 80s - loads of British retailers left: MFI, BHS (came back, briefly), Woolworths.

Until it was skipped recently, there was an old shopping bag in my parents house from some shop that had "Tesco Shopping Centre, Lucan" as their address, with a six digit phone number so from the 80s period - the anchor in that centre became a Crazy Prices, then Tesco again and may even briefly have been H. Williams.

Glaceon

I think the Tesco in Ballyfermot was also a Tesco back then before it was a Quinnsworth/Crazy Prices. I remember seeing some old Tesco trollies still in the bay there in the early 90s.

L1011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118898892#Comment_118898892

It was, there's a slightly distinctive style to the 80s Tesco buildings.

Quinnsworth themselves were already in Ballyfermot before buying that - 1986 street directory has down beside where Kavanaghs is now in the row shops nearly opposite the current store and in the unit that's now Molloys Liquor Stores at Grange Cross, might have been split food / hardware like a lot of older Quinnsworths were.

Glaceon

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118898937#Comment_118898937

Yep that's correct about the one at Molloys. I remember that one too but can't recall if I was ever in it. I was in the cafe near Kavanaghs a few years ago and they had a massive photo on the wall of that shop when it was still branded Power Supermarkets.

I only remember Payne's Spar where Kavanaghs is now. 1986 was a little bit before I can remember!

L1011

Did a bit of digging and the one near Kavanaghs had originally been a Five Star - a chain owned by the company behind Tullamore Dew whiskey weirdly - which Quinnsworth/Powers bought in the late 70s. They probably already had the one at Grange Cross when they bought it.

Mergers that left you owning three supermarkets on the same road wouldn't normally be allowed now!

There was one in Kells in the early 80s, its supervalu now

cml387

It's a remarkable(ish) fact that despite it's market penetration there is no Tesco in all of Kilkenny.

L1011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119055244#Comment_119055244

There's even two in Leitrim - most retailers only ever have one in Carrick and nothing else!

GerardKeating

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119055244#Comment_119055244

It's not for the lack of trying..

shaunn

Mad that I've just come across this thread. I saw this advertisement for Tesco in 1982 with a list of the stores open across Ireland at the time, this must have been after they came to Ireland for the first time. The newspaper is Westmeath Examiner, Saturday, November 27, 1982.

looksee

Interesting article about Tesco from the Irish Examiner https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-20051794.html

The article is from 2008 and says

In 2006 Tesco bought €654.8m of Irish food and drink for sales in its stores outside Ireland.

By contrast France, which is Ireland’s second biggest destination for food and drink, bought €606m of Irish produce — some €48.8m short of Tesco.

And in Ireland Tesco sold €832.2m of Irish food and drink in 2006, making a worldwide sales total of €1.93bn in Irish produce alone.

My memory of the lack of Tesco in Kilkenny was a bit 'lets keep this English supermarket out', while 'our own' Dunnes Stores had its own controversies and even a government investigation, which tended to be largely forgiven or at least ignored.

Glaceon

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119187237#Comment_119187237

There was a similar situation when Tesco tried to build a store in Listowel. The local SuperValu franchise holder (Garveys) successfully objected to it.

supereurope

Sorry for digging up an old thread but does anyone happen to know the locations of the 22 or 23 (the number varies) stores Tesco had in the Republic of Ireland when it pulled out in March 1986?

There's 17 stores in the 1982 ad posted above, so assuming none of those closed or were sold to another supermarket before March 1986, then Tesco opened five or six stores between November 1982 and March 1986. There were five for certain: the Nutgrove SC, Prussia St D7, the Horan Centre in Tralee, Togher in Cork and Clonmel. Anyone know if there a sixth?

lordleitrim

I remember the old Tesco in Tralee back in the 80s before it became H Williams and then a Dunnes which it currently still is for over 30 years

Seve OB

there was definitely one in ballybrack

Think it was gubays cause that is what everyone called it for years even when it was Tesco and every other incarnation

I was born in 76, don’t remember gubays but I remember it being a Tesco in the 80’s

Then it may have been Quinnsworth for a period. I say this because it used to be split in 2 stores back then and pretty sure they had the hardware/ games in the back store with quinnsworth name ….. I spent my pocket money there on a few occasions….. remember getting transformers, (one that turned into a tape deck (proper 80’s 🤣))and Lego tecnics 😂

Front store definitely became super crazy prices and possibly H Williams for a period …… was it called Giant at one point for a very short period? Pretty sure it had a brief period with an unusual name.

It’s Tesco again since they came back in the late 90’s and the 2 stores were knocked into 1 bigger shop many many years ago

I remember getting my 1990 packie bonner jersey in similar setup quinnsworth store in bray so possibly this was also a Tesco back in the 80’s also but I can’t really remember that…. I must ask my old man or aunt. That deffo had less name changes .

And for anyone interested, Lidl in Shankill was built as a huge h Williams in the mid to late 80’s then split in half to make a pub called the corbawn tavern and the supermarket became a super value. Was idle for years I think before Lidl came along and rebuilt everything

supereurope

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122304564#Comment_122304564

Giant was a very short-lived name in Irish supermarkets. It was a last-ditch attempt by H Williams to save itself from collapse by repositioning itself as a Crazy Prices-style discounter.

Since I posted my question, I think I've found the answer! A Tesco store opened in Tullamore just before Christmas 1984, that would be the sixth, bringing to total to 23.

Seve OB

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122304571#Comment_122304571

realised after that I wasn’t even answering your question at all 🤣 and hadn’t looked at the ad above properly

Just found another thread with great info about above

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2057675654/where-was-the-old-crazy-prices-in-relation-to-the-present-day-dundrum-town-centre