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Shoppers head north for bargains

Thursday, 10 July 2008

NORTHSIDERS jumped at the chance of getting a free bus ride to Northern Ireland recently to avail of cheaper food prices.
Northside businessman Sean Couch said he organised the trip to highlight how some supermarkets in the Republic are “fleecing shoppers”.
“We are being ripped off down here in relation to food stuffs,” he told Northside People.
“Some shops are charging between 27 and 33 per cent more than their Northern counterparts which is just inexcusable.
“That is why I wanted people to vote with their feet and to experience how much cheaper it is in places like Newry.”
The buses to Newry left from the Northside Shopping Centre, Clearwater in Finglas and Ballymun Shopping Centre last Tuesday morning (July 1).
It is understood that over 40 people availed of the opportunity to head North.
Mr Couch, of the Dublin Mortgage Centre, paid for the transport involved.
“I didn’t get anything out of the trips,” he explained.
“Every day in my line of business I see so many people who are struggling to afford the cost of living here in Dublin and food is just one of the expenses which has skyrocketed.”
He added: “I want the message to hit home to supermarkets here that if you don’t reduce your prices people will make a habit of shopping in the North. I also want consumers to realise how much they can save by shopping around.”
A recent survey carried out by the National Consumer Agency confirmed that there is a “considerable mark-up” on branded goods when compared to Northern Ireland.
“There was a 31 per cent difference between a basket of 42 branded goods in one supermarket with branches north and south of the border and a 28 per cent difference between another,” it was stated.
The agency also noted that shoppers in the South of Ireland suffer from a lack of competition between supermarkets.
“There is evidence of competition in the Northern market but identical pricing in the Republic on a basket of 22 branded goods,” the agency’s report states.
“We believe that the greater number of players in the Northern Irish market contributes to competition but the concentration of just a few main players in the Republic of Ireland market is leading to price matching.”
The National Consumer Agency said it will keep an eye on the market with regular surveys.
The Tánaiste and Minister for Trade and Enterprise, Mary Coughlan, recently met with major retail operators to discuss the matter.
“Irish consumers have not seen the benefit of the rise in the euro against sterling in the prices they are paying for some goods in shops,” a spokesperson for the department said.
“Retail Ireland has said that every avenue is and will be pursued vigorously over the coming months to ensure that Irish consumers receive the most competitive prices available in the marketplace.
“They indicated that there had already been reductions in the price of some goods imported from the UK and that further reductions were in the pipeline.”

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