Survey reveals huge price mark-up by British retailers

is_that_so

Here we go again. So much for Tesco and every little helps.

Survey reveals huge price mark-up by British retailers

18 May 2008
By Susan Mitchell
Irish shoppers are paying up to 50 per cent more than their British counterparts for many goods sold by British retailers, according to a Sunday Business Post survey.

The survey of ten British retailers that have shops in Ireland and Britain found that all but one of the retailers were charging Irish customers significantly more than British customers.

The survey included popular household names such as Tesco, Argos, Top Shop and Laura Ashley.

Products at Tesco were up to 43 per cent more expensive in Ireland, while electronic goods were more than 20 per cent dearer at Argos in Ireland. Laura Ashley is charging Irish customers as much as 57 per cent more for goods, the survey shows.

Ann Fitzgerald, chief executive of the National Consumer Agency, said shoppers should boycott British retailers that charged significantly higher prices in Ireland. ‘‘I would urge consumers to simply boycott the shops and make their feelings known to management. Consumers can drive competition by refusing to buy,” Fitzgerald said.

Dermott Jewell, chief executive of the Consumers’ Association of Ireland, said British retailers in Ireland were ‘‘profiteering at our expense’’.

‘‘Retailers seem immune to criticism,” Jewell said. ‘‘The only way to affect them is to stop buying from them. I have no doubt that a plethora of rubbish excuses will be trotted out by retailers this week. We seem to be viewed as an easy target.”

Just one of the ten retailers surveyed, Waterstones, was charging similar prices in Ireland and Britain, a fact likely to undermine the argument by some retailers, who claimed that it was more expensive to do business in Ireland.

http://www.sbpost.ie/post/pages/p/story.aspx-qqqt=NEWS-qqqs=news-qqqid=32988-qqqx=1.asp

Nody

And exactly what excuse will be put in that stops the Irish retailers from charging the so called "fair" price then? Any company will charge with what they can get away with on a given market, welcome to greed inc., the company that cares.

madser

Irish people deserve what they get, they put up with getting ripped off all the time, look how we accept Bertie and his dodgy dealings and how the same muppets get voted in to the dail time after time.:mad:

Theres no accountability for anything as far as health finance or coruption as I have already outlined.

This country makes me sick, this isn't news just buy something in Oasis and see the difference in price between Ireland and UK.

ejmaztec

Before the UK retailers landed here, the decades of rip-offs were down to the lack of competition between Irish retailers. They were the ones who set the prices and margins for their captive audience. Those very same retailers are the ones now telling everbody to buy from them because they're Irish. Had they not been bleeding their Irish customers dry for years with extortionate prices, it would not have been worthwhile the likes of Tesco etc.., coming here. Sure prices are higher from their outlets in Ireland, than they are in the UK, but we would be paying retailers like Musgrave/SuperValu etc.. a hell of a lot more if they had stayed at home.

is_that_so

Tesco appears to be the most expensive based on the most recent NCA survey I can find. There is no doubt that the initial arrival of Tesco via the old Quinnsworth had some effect , these days however the two
German multiples seem to be the ones providing the value. I would hazard a guess and say the combination of laziness and the various loyalty cards keeps people from really shopping around. AFAIk both Dunnes and Tesco are around the 20-22% mark and have been for many years. IMO it suits them to maintain the status quo.

The lack of difference in prices between Dunnes and Tesco on anything suggests that they are tracking each other rather than providing competition. Dunnes seem to be more interested in the M&S market and Tesco in anything from books to insurance and loans. As for the other retail shops, well seeing as we have become a nation who can't keep our credit cards in our pockets , there's really no surprise at all.

The only one on the list that has to be competitive is Waterstone's because we'd quite happily go to Amazon instead.

Competition only exists when people actually realise how much things cost and go in search of good value. From beer to property we really haven't done that in some time and maybe we do deserve all we get but it doesn't excuse the differences. Until it upsets us enough to go elsewhere IMO, the differentials will remain and be explained away any way they choose.

rubadub

Same old crap and BS stats. I love those "up to" figures. So a tin of beans might be 20cent here and 10cent in tesco UK, a massive 100% increase, wow... :rolleyes:

Give us the real figures of items, and point out the VAT differences.

I find a lot of stuff in the UK more expensive than here.

Latchy

The big retail chains are in so much competition with each other and tescos have promised a price freeze on a lot of their food products (pre recent food cost increses ) but the reality is that tescos stands to loose a lot of it's it's £50/60 weekly food shoppers which is a big % to them (if not more ) than the £ 100/50 weekly food shopper .Asda is also doing same but it's surprising to see more and more brits shopping in aldi, lidil and other smaller retail players were as before they wouldent other wish shop there .Prices just might even out again ,hopfully over here anyway