[zipzoc]

Sorry if this has been covered before but I just have to say that anyone buying from Topshop in Ireland needs their head examined. I was in there today with my wife and scribbled down some euro prices. When I got home I compared them to prices on the UK website.

This jacket is £55 (or €66) in UK - €84 in Dublin!

http://www.topshop.com/webapp/wcs/st...et&pageSize=20

This (ahem..) bikini is £14 (or €16) in UK - €21 in Dublin!

http://www.topshop.com/webapp/wcs/st...ni&pageSize=20

These pant are £28 (or €33) in UK - €44 in Dublin!

http://www.topman.com/webapp/wcs/sto...no&pageSize=20

Heading up north (there's a branch in Newry which is a little over an hour from Dublin) or buying online is definitely the way to go.

Rip off Ireland is here to stay!

[the groutch]

Originally Posted by zipzoc

Rip off Ireland is here to stay!

no, paying staff more than €7.30 (£6.08) a hour is here to stay

[sandin]

Originally Posted by zipzoc

Heading up north (there's a branch in Newry which is a little over an hour from Dublin) or buying online is definitely the way to go.

Rip off Ireland is here to stay!

Lets get this straight.

You're pissed off because the BRITISH multiple retailer is charging you a higher price in Dublin then in its UK stores.

As a "protest" you're going to go to Newry and buy the same items from the SAME BRITISH retailer???

What's the point in this? They still get your money and are laughing at you.

If you really want to punish them, you don't buy from them here, newry or online.

[Skopzz]

Isn't Topshop a big brand / designer store? Why are you buying up-market clothes? Why aren't you buying more affordable ones from Primark / Dunnes?

[sandin]

Originally Posted by Skopzz

Isn't Topshop a big brand / designer store? Why are you buying up-market clothes? Why aren't you buying more affordable ones from Primark / Dunnes?

Topshop a designer store????

I should think not - they compete with pennys, but at a slightly higher demographic, probably in bewteen Pennys & Next, but a long long long way off designer status.

[phasers]

I think a lot of people just try the clothes on in the shop and buy online in those stores, my Mam works in Topshop and constantly hears girls saying 'yeah, I'll get that online tonight'.

[Corruptedmorals]

It's the heels that annoy me- £65-€99 and have been for years and years.

Or the 20% student night. Pay the same as someone in the UK! Haha only for students though.

They're much emptier these days, and I've heard they're struggling to cover the rent in a few outlets. Serves them right if they have to pull out of Ireland, their main competitor River Island has brought down its prices by quite a bit and Forever21 has a very similar demographic and clothes range but undercuts substantially on everything. They are fools to keep their prices the same.

[Skopzz]

Yikes, Topshop appears to be an unmarket shop. People still seem to have an obscession buying expensive big brands in this country for some reason. The salaries probably will be cut further to change people's behavior. I buy my clothes in Primark because they offer value for money and an excellent compromize for quality. Just a suggestion.

[Corruptedmorals]

Originally Posted by Skopzz

Yikes, Topshop appears to be an unmarket shop. People still seem to have an obscession buying expensive big brands in this country for some reason. The salaries probably will be cut further to change people's behavior. I buy my clothes in Primark because they offer value for money and an excellent compromize for quality. Just a suggestion.

It's not upmarket, it's standard high street. French connection, bt2, Reiss, Karen millen and ted baker are upmarket. It is too expensive for what it is though.

[aristocat]

Philip Green is CEO of Arcadia which owns Topshop (Arcadia is owned by his wife who lives in Monaco). You might be interested in knowing his views of the Irish. The following is a quote attributed to Mr Green about the Guardian's Financial Editor Paul Murphy who is Irish: "He can't read English. Mind you, he is a ****ing Irishman". He later apologised to the Irish people as customers threatened to boycott his stores. Last time I was in Topshop it was quite empty, and it was a Saturday afternoon. Something is keeping the shoppers away. Prices are disgraceful.

[Cherrycola]

I returned a dress there last week that i bought online, reduced from £40 to £20, but the euro price was a whopping €71!!!
Im only raging i didnt go for an exchange, pretending i didnt have a receipt, and got €71 worth of clothes instead! Duh!

People can argue about the cost of staff, overheads, rent, tax, etc etc, but when you see other UK brand stores with much more realistic sterling to euro pricing, who are obviously paying the same rents and staff wages etc, it makes you realise that the others are just out to screw us!

Fingers crossed Topshop dont start a euro website like Warehouse did, so they can charge us those stupid prices online too!

[Cherrycola]

Originally Posted by sandin

Lets get this straight.

You're pissed off because the BRITISH multiple retailer is charging you a higher price in Dublin then in its UK stores.

As a "protest" you're going to go to Newry and buy the same items from the SAME BRITISH retailer???

What's the point in this? They still get your money and are laughing at you.

If you really want to punish them, you don't buy from them here, newry or online.

The point is they get LESS of the OP's money, and he gets the item he wanted at a price he is willing to pay and thinks is value for money.

I couldnt give a rats backside if every cent i spend on clothing goes to the UK! If i can save the money that goes into my pocket every week by doing this, then so be it.
Every penny we give in VAT here is going straight to the EU, not towards keeping and encouraging jobs in Ireland, so why should we contribute?!
Until the big knobs realise that the general public cannot afford the cost of living that we could 5 years ago then nothing will change.
Its not the minimum wage thats causing high prices here, its just greed! And as long as they can get away with it, they will, so we need to hit them where it hurts, in their profit, and then they may reconsider their pricing policy!

[charlemont]

The prices are higher here because of the Paddy Tax..

[ejmaztec]

Originally Posted by aristocat

Philip Green is CEO of Arcadia which owns Topshop (Arcadia is owned by his wife who lives in Monaco). You might be interested in knowing his views of the Irish. The following is a quote attributed to Mr Green about the Guardian's Financial Editor Paul Murphy who is Irish: "He can't read English. Mind you, he is a ****ing Irishman". He later apologised to the Irish people as customers threatened to boycott his stores. Last time I was in Topshop it was quite empty, and it was a Saturday afternoon. Something is keeping the shoppers away. Prices are disgraceful.

You'd think that Philip Green would be a bit more "prejudice savvy", as he's no doubt been subjected to anti-semitism during his life.

[borderlinemeath]

Originally Posted by Cherrycola

The point is they get LESS of the OP's money, and he gets the item he wanted at a price he is willing to pay and thinks is value for money.

I couldnt give a rats backside if every cent i spend on clothing goes to the UK! If i can save the money that goes into my pocket every week by doing this, then so be it.

The money that you contribute in tax goes to fund the social welfare payments of the retail workers that have lost their jobs in the recession. You keep not "giving a rats backside" and you'll be paying higher tax to fund increased number of welfare payments.

Every penny we give in VAT here is going straight to the EU, not towards keeping and encouraging jobs in Ireland, so why should we contribute?!

Rather bitter generalisation there. Any facts to back up your "every penny" theory? Also "keeping and encouraging jobs in Ireland" well - you're doing the exact opposite by shopping online.

Until the big knobs realise that the general public cannot afford the cost of living that we could 5 years ago then nothing will change.

Plenty of UK stores have readjusted their margins and are taking a lot less in profit than others. Arcadia have a very high cost base in Ireland, down to over expansion, high wages and staff retention and huge transport costs for stock to stores. I'm not saying they are right to have such inflated exchange rates but there are high costs associated with how they operate.

Its not the minimum wage thats causing high prices here, its just greed! And as long as they can get away with it, they will, so we need to hit them where it hurts, in their profit, and then they may reconsider their pricing policy!

Wages are just one element of cost. I know when I worked for Arcadia a few years ago staff were taken in on either a rate above the minimum wage or if they had previous experience then they were given a wage usually similar or above their previous employers hourly rate. Double time was paid on Sundays and Bank Hols and there were a LOT of staff that had long service entitlements such as extra holidays, christmas entitlements etc that were agreed with the unions when Arcadia bought over the Burton Group and Sears so these cost a great deal in excess staffing costs.

Rates cost a huge amount to any business and depending on your business model can be astronomical. The topshop brand has it's flagship store on the most prestigious street in the country - The rates on the Grafton St/Stephens Green premises would be very excessive, I would guess it would be a good few hundred thousand per annum. Thats before they pay rent.

Warehousing and transport cost retail businesses a great deal. The stock for Arcadia comes from the UK distribution warehouses so the Irish consumer has to bear the brunt of this as well. Topshop prides itself as being on the cutting edge of fashion and would get deliveries every day with new stock arriving all the time. Even the smaller Arcadia brands get deliveries at least 3 times a week to keep up with customer demands.

Insurance and liability also cost far more here than in the UK as do commercial utilities but sure why let facts get in the way of a good rant?