bye bye Newry...prices to drop here

darc

Looks like Coast, Karen Millen & Oasis are first off the mark

" Last night, the Irish head of Mosaic said UK-based retailers will have to lower their prices accordingly or face the wrath of consumers, who will take their business elsewhere.

Ian Galvin, said the company had slashed prices across the board by 10pc before Christmas to reflect the closing gap between the two currencies. He said in some cases price tags reflected the prices on old stock bought about six months ago, he said.

But his chain will be pricing its new spring lines in accordance with the currency fluctuations, he said.

"Whether it will be at parity we don't know but we are regulating our pricing," he said. "

Once one does it, the others have to follow.

Typhoon.

Woo Hoo....bout time i hear you say.

bcirl03

Too late I say - they should have done it yonks ago - Newry for me all the way.

Scottie99

bcirl03 wrote: »

Too late I say - they should have done it yonks ago - Newry for me all the way.

+1:D

The_Conductor

Well- its a good start......
Problem is- no-one is spending- consumer confidence is shattered.
Why the hell would you spend if you have no idea if you'll have a job 3 months down the road.
Even the civil service, that old bastion of "safeness" looks likely to shed as many as 1/3 of the posts- and the public sector in general in some sectors as much as half........
I'll take my grocery shopping north- but you can be bloody sure new clothes are the least of my worries........

Bluefoam

the sales in dublin are almost non existent, very hard to get value here...

I went to buy a telly & the prices seemed to be more than the pre christmas prices. so have decided to use the money elsewhere - the shops are just doing themselves harm at the moment...

Guy:Incognito

Unless they can drop the prices to the same as the UK I dotn see any change.

I also cant see how they can drop the prices to the same as the uk without lowering wages, rents etc(which they cant do) . If they lower prices and not costs they wont make money and it'll be cheaper to pull out than subsidise Irish stores with the uk ones.

The_Conductor

Stekelly wrote: »

Unless they can drop the prices to the same as the UK I dotn see any change.

I also cant see how they can drop the prices to the same as the uk without lowering wages, rents etc(which they cant do) . If they lower prices and not costs they wont make ,oney and it'll be cheaper to pull out than subsidise Irish stores with the uk ones.

Commercial rents are now in free-fall- thats a major plank in the equation......
A big problem is our minimum wage- which I can't see any politician risking their neck suggesting its strangling the services industry- which it most certainly is.
Also- they have indigenous industry they can fall back on in the UK- whereas we most certainly don't here. The only thing stopping the Irish economy imploding is the prospect of a 'special deal' from Obama on our corporation tax rate for the multinationals- but even that isn't enough to darken the allure of Poland/Slovakia and the more stable of our eastern states........

Things are bleak- really really bleak. I don't know what the government expect to pull out of the hat on this occasion...... Calling the lot of us unpatriotic is ridiculous though.........

bcirl03

bcirl03 wrote: »

Too late I say - they should have done it yonks ago - Newry for me all the way.

+1

Prices probably won't come down enough anyway and the north will still be chaeper.

Koloman

bcirl03 wrote: »

Too late I say - they should have done it yonks ago - Newry for me all the way.

But if they have dropped their prices then why would you still go to Newry? Is it just to look smug?

Koloman

smccarrick wrote: »

Commercial rents are now in free-fall- thats a major plank in the equation......
A big problem is our minimum wage- which I can't see any politician risking their neck suggesting its strangling the services industry- which it most certainly is.
Also- they have indigenous industry they can fall back on in the UK- whereas we most certainly don't here. The only thing stopping the Irish economy imploding is the prospect of a 'special deal' from Obama on our corporation tax rate for the multinationals- but even that isn't enough to darken the allure of Poland/Slovakia and the more stable of our eastern states........

Things are bleak- really really bleak. I don't know what the government expect to pull out of the hat on this occasion...... Calling the lot of us unpatriotic is ridiculous though.........

The minimum wage is a great point. If you look at the min wage here it is over 5000 Euro a year more than in the UK. There should be a 5 year freeze on this wage. It is unpopular to say but it has to be done.

Walkman

Koloman wrote: »

The minimum wage is a great point. If you look at the min wage here it is over 5000 Euro a year more than in the UK. There should be a 5 year freeze on this wage. It is unpopular to say but it has to be done.

Couldnt agree more. Was already told in work no bonus or payrise this yr. No problem with that, would rather keep my job

mikemac

Koloman wrote: »

The minimum wage is a great point. If you look at the min wage here it is over 5000 Euro a year more than in the UK. There should be a 5 year freeze on this wage. It is unpopular to say but it has to be done.

If you are going to freeze/cut the minimum wage then imo you are going to have to do the same or more on the dole rate.
Because why work for minimum wage when it is getting closer and closer to the dole rate?

By way of comparison it is 197 euro in Ireland and every search I've done in google shows £47.95 for the UK. Now there's a difference!
Now I know about the NHS and other schemes but it's a big difference no question

darc

smccarrick wrote: »

Commercial rents are now in free-fall- thats a major plank in the equation......
Things are bleak- really really bleak. I don't know what the government expect to pull out of the hat on this occasion...... Calling the lot of us unpatriotic is ridiculous though.........

Obviously you subscribe to the press version of things (hysterical headlines written by gombeens) - I prefer reality.

Unemployment may rise to 10% temporarily but it leaves 90% employed.

Inflation is near to zero at present.

Lower Interest rates leading to lower mortgages will lead to greater high street spending. Lower oil, lower petrol & possibly by June lower Gas & ESB too. All puts money in the back pocket. - It will take a few months for people to spend again, but they will and by 3rd quarter of 2009, economy will start moving back up and employment will re-commence growth.

Finally, the euro will not stay at this rate for long. Most analysts expect it to retract to the 80p level by mid year. That, added to huge duty increases on booze, cigs & fuel in the UK budget (pre announced in November last) will delete Newry shopping trips.

The_Conductor

darc wrote: »

Obviously you subscribe to the press version of things (hysterical headlines written by gombeens) - I prefer reality.

Actually- I prefer to deal in hard facts- and draw my own conclusion. Far from my press readings being those penned by hysterical gombeen journalists, as you so eloquently put it, IMF reports, sectoral writeups in the Economist, CSO data and information emanating from government departments are far more pertinent barometers of fact, whether you like it or not.

darc wrote: »

Unemployment may rise to 10% temporarily but it leaves 90% employed.

Thats taking a rosy view. The figures being bandied are now 14-15% unemployed (as in- currently out of work, but actively seeking employment) with possibly a few more percent out there who while unemployed, actually don't want to be (its the stubborn 4% level at which point the economy was considered 'in full employment'). Years ago it was rare for there to be dual income households. Now its the norm. With as many as 15% unemployed, and 85% after taking paycuts, reduced hours etc- the actual unemployment figures are hiding a myriad of other ills.

darc wrote: »

Inflation is near to zero at present.

Correct. Preliminary figures show negative inflation levels in 1 of the last 3 months, and this is expected to continue. If you're studied economics you'll be familiar with negative inflation, its consequences, and its feedback into other theories such as the paradox of thrift. Having an inflation rate of zero- is not actually a good thing. Why spend today- when you have a realistic expectation that the goods you seek to purchase will be cheaper tomorrow?

darc wrote: »

Lower Interest rates leading to lower mortgages will lead to greater high street spending.

Nice in theory. Fact is that people are borrowed to the hilt (Irish consumer debt is the second highest in the world). People borrowed on the assumption that 1. they could refinance these debts (now not possible to a large extent) and 2. that they weren't really debts- because in a lot of cases the money borrowed was used to purchase rapidly appreciating assets (now obviously a fallacy to any sane person). The lowering of interest rates may make repayments easier- however its happening at the same time as an acceleration in indirect taxation, the removal or reduction in a number of schemes which sheltered people from the higher tax band, cutbacks in overtime, hours, hourly rates, and annual salaries etc. So while its welcome news on one hand- on the other- even if the negative effects of economic conditions do not outway the benefit- public sentiment is such that the poisoned atmosphere makes it very difficult to choose to spend 30k on that car you've been eying for 2 years- because you just don't know whats going to happen next.

darc wrote: »

Lower oil, lower petrol & possibly by June lower Gas & ESB too. All puts money in the back pocket. - It will take a few months for people to spend again, but they will and by 3rd quarter of 2009, economy will start moving back up and employment will re-commence growth.

Oil closed last week @ $39- almost a 70% fall on its peak 2008 price. Petrol and diesel at the pump remain above 90c a litre. Why? Because of government taxation- thats why. Remember the 8c put on petrol in the budget? Well the current discussions are to add to the price of diesel in the Supplementary budget that we're not supposed to be talking about.

Re: ESB and Gas- can you see the 21% gas increase of September being wound back? What about the VAT on both- thats gone up too.

House prices are falling 1.1-1.4% month on month- people's paper wealth is evaporating- they feel poorer- because on paper, they are.

I'm not moaning at your optimism, its nice to hear such a sunny disposition as yours- particularly in the current climate. I do think its misplaced in the extreme however.

darc wrote: »

Finally, the euro will not stay at this rate for long. Most analysts expect it to retract to the 80p level by mid year. That, added to huge duty increases on booze, cigs & fuel in the UK budget (pre announced in November last) will delete Newry shopping trips.

While I accept that the currency differential is unlikely to stay in its current form for long- even the 80p level suggests parity with the old Irish pound. It is a probable level for a retrenching- but I don't think that its anywhere near where it would have to go in order to dissuade people to pop up to Newry.

The added duty increases in fuel, cigs and booze- could very well be mirrored here (particularly as the government here need to cut expenditure massively, and raise income (current projections are for a net deficit in the current account of almost 8% and when you factor in other expenditure possibly as high as 11-12%- increasing our national debt in 2009 alone by a whopping 9.5% of GDP. The bank guarantee will also add just under .5billion in additional interest payments to new and refinanced debt over and above what it would otherwise have been. The Irish government needs to raise funds, even more urgently than the British exchequer. We have no difficulty accessing these funds- they are however at rates currently almost 3.2% above the British sovereign borrowing rates, and 1.1% above the German rates (we were .48% above prior to the government guarantee to the banks).

I admire your sunny disposition, but in my humble opinion, expecting an economic recovery by Q3 2009 is severly misplaced optimism.

mickoneill30

mikemac wrote: »

If you are going to freeze/cut the minimum wage then imo you are going to have to do the same or more on the dole rate.
Because why work for minimum wage when it is getting closer and closer to the dole rate?

We need a government that isn't afraid of itself, the opposition, the unions and any other group that can bother complaining. We don't have that and I don't see any viable alternatives. They need to take some tough decisions but that might lose them a vote so we couldn't have that.

I think you're right but a lot more jobs are going to have to be lost before our government starts deciding to lead. By that time it'll be too late.

I was up in the Outlet in Banbridge about 6 months ago. I had a look at the jobs wall. Managers were being offered about £20,000. What does a store manager get here? For anybody who is going up there have a look at those advertisements. I think they're near the left hand entrance on the wall. Wages are just one part of the equation though, there's rent, insurance, competition, VAT etc. etc. Those factors are all contributing to higher prices down here.

As to the point of the post. If I can save €100 it's worth my time taking a trip up the North. That's not hard to do so it'll take a hell of a lot of retailers to adjust their prices to stem the flow to the North. I wouldn't go up every week but I'd go up every 3 months or so for a clothes shop, whatever electronics I'm looking for and maybe a grocery shop.

As to people not spending money, I'm not so sure. Go up to Newry and count the Southern reg cars. Tesco has a sale here today and according to the thread on that it was bedlam and anything decent was sold in a few minutes. People are still spending money but they're pricing around now just like the government told us to do about a year ago.

the groutch

I would welcome all extra duties on booze, it's because of it that the A&E's are so overcrowded

Thomas_S_Hunterson

the groutch wrote: »

I would welcome all extra duties on booze, it's because of it that the A&E's are so overcrowded

Yes extra duties on booze will stop this.:pac:

Sure it would be stupid of Ireland to learn from it's peers in europe who have much smaller alcohol problems and little or no extra duties on alcohol.

Danno

If one was to show up and get treated in A&E while under the influence of alcohol was to be charged a penalty of €500 - That would quiten the A&E Places.

bcirl03

Koloman wrote: »

But if they have dropped their prices then why would you still go to Newry? Is it just to look smug?

I would still go, not for the 'smugness' element but more so the service level - first thing I noticed after the price difference - that old fashioned thing of being helpful to ones customers.

Had it up to here with shops and staff in the south treating you like a piece of dirt when your giving them business.

EKRIUQ

mikemac wrote: »

If you are going to freeze/cut the minimum wage then imo you are going to have to do the same or more on the dole rate.
Because why work for minimum wage when it is getting closer and closer to the dole rate?
By way of comparison it is 197 euro in Ireland and every search I've done in google shows £47.95 for the UK. Now there's a difference!
Now I know about the NHS and other schemes but it's a big difference no question

With the rate sterling is at the moment things are going to get more expensive up the north as now they will be importing TV's and other goods from China and Japan with their week sterling and costs will go up

For most small business's the minimum wage is the main stumbling block in hiring people even part time and their looking for an extra €1per hour.

€197 is the basic dole rate then you have rent allowance of €115 there's very little incentive to work for the sake of an extra 30 or 40 euros.

Koloman

mikemac wrote: »

If you are going to freeze/cut the minimum wage then imo you are going to have to do the same or more on the dole rate.
Because why work for minimum wage when it is getting closer and closer to the dole rate?

By way of comparison it is 197 euro in Ireland and every search I've done in google shows £47.95 for the UK. Now there's a difference!
Now I know about the NHS and other schemes but it's a big difference no question

That's even worse than I thought if it is true! The dole should also be frozen as well to make it work after all inflation is going down and into negative equity anyway.