Superquinn Dundalk to close

doncarlos

I've just heard that Superquinn in Dundalk is to close next month with a loss of all jobs. Newry is crippling Dundalk for shopping.

badvibes

doncarlos wrote: »

Newry is crippling Dundalk for shopping.

cant agree ,dunnes have 3 stores ,tesco two ,lidl 1 and aldi 1 soon to be 2,in dundalk .superquinn just to expensive

TommyT

Superquinn is very expensive. The bread and meat are top quality, but the other brands which can be bought everywhere else are so much more expensive. Sad to see more job losses in town, but until we get our act together more money is going to be spent in Sainsburys in Newry.
The government needs to stop mouthing off about patriotism and drop VAT and anything else that will make not only Dundalk but the rest of this country competitive again.

Walkman

I heard on the news, i know some people working for the company and first they heard about it was when they heard it on the news - disgraceful on Superquinns part to let staff find out this way

doncarlos

doncarlos wrote: »

I've just heard that Superquinn in Dundalk is to close next month with a loss of all jobs. Newry is crippling Dundalk for shopping.

Newry has nothing to do with them closing, they are just too expensive.

tonymahoney

hellboy99 wrote: »

Newry has nothing to do with them closing, they are just too expensive.

I think you will find if you purchase an exact like for like trolley of goods from Superquinn and any of the other major retailers there will be no difference

TommyT

tonymahoney wrote: »

I think you will find if you purchase an exact like for like trolley of goods from Superquinn and any of the other major retailers there will be no difference

:rolleyes: It is the most expensive supermarket in town, by a long way.

Whiskey Devil

tonymahoney wrote: »

I think you will find if you purchase an exact like for like trolley of goods from Superquinn and any of the other major retailers there will be no difference

Tesco and Dunnes can't even guarantee that. Unless Superquinn have cut their prices dramatically in recent times they are most definetely more expensive on pretty much everything. It's a shame, they are great supermarkets.


Anyone know how many they employ in Dundalk?

tonymahoney

tonymahoney wrote: »

I think you will find if you purchase an exact like for like trolley of goods from Superquinn and any of the other major retailers there will be no difference

I think you will find your very wrong with your statement.

Dunnesstores:
DS 12pk Eggs - €0.99c
DS Kitchen Towels (4 Rolls) - €1.69c

Superquinns:
SQ 12pk Eggs - €3.95c
SQ 6pk Eggs - €1.59c
SQ Kitchen Towels (4 Rolls) - €3.49c
Euroshopper Kitchen Towels (4 Rolls) - €1.99

I can list more if you want. I suggest for the future that if your going to make such a statement you back it up.

Whiskey Devil

TommyT wrote: »

The government needs to stop mouthing off about patriotism and drop VAT and anything else that will make not only Dundalk but the rest of this country competitive again.

Minimum wage here is €8.65 - €6.13 in the north today. Pretty much everything will have to change if we want to compete with that.

Experts are predicting that the Pound is finished anyway.

Whiskey Devil

hellboy99 wrote: »

I think you will find your very wrong with your statement.

Dunnesstores:
DS 12pk Eggs - €0.99c
DS Kitchen Towels (4 Rolls) - €1.69c

Superquinns:
SQ 12pk Eggs - €3.95c
SQ 6pk Eggs - €1.59c
SQ Kitchen Towels (4 Rolls) - €3.49c
Euroshopper Kitchen Towels (4 Rolls) - €1.99

I can list more if you want. I suggest for the future that if your going to make such a statement you back it up.

I think he was referring to Daz for Daz, Corn Flakes for Corn Flakes. Brand for brand.

Kitchen Towels can differ greatly. Eggs can be medium, large etc..

Superquinns:
Pepsi Diet - 2 x 2ltr - €4.05c
Sqeez Juice Apple 2 x 1ltr - €3.45c

Dunnesstores:
Pepsi Diet - 2 x 2ltr - €3.00c
Sqeez Juice Apple 2 x 1ltr - €2.50c

Whiskey Devil

Point proven. Good work.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

While we always found Superquinn a little more expensive, we always shopped there. This store is not closong because of competition from Newry. They ran the store down over the last couple of years. Since the first manager (McArdle I think) left the standards have dropped. Quality of Fruit & Veg went downhill, they were forever out of stock of many basic items and stopped selling some items completely. The place became dirty with shelves never wiped down.
It was poor management. I feel sorry for the staff as they were wonderful and gave great customer service in the face of a management who couldn't get basic stock control right.

Mr Magnolia

Bad news for the staff and indeed, for the whole centre. It'll be hard for the smaller shops to carry on trading in a store with no anchor tennant.

Feelgood

I think that shopping centre as a whole is fooked, theres not a whole pile going on in there particularly now that the marshes has opened. Is CD World even still opened?. I know the beauticians in there went out of business quite a while ago too.

Though Superquinns bakery was top notch I have to say, everything else was a complete ripoff. It was a nice place to shop though and the staff were really helpful and chatty. Hopefully they will find jobs.

Cpt Tremendous

badvibes wrote: »

cant agree ,dunnes have 3 stores ,tesco two ,lidl 1 and aldi 1 soon to be 2,in dundalk .superquinn just to expensive

Dunnes do have 3 stores in Dundalk but their prices are not uniform across the board. My mam shops in Dunnes with my grandmother once a week, she went to Dunnes in Newry last week to get her weekly shop and saved over €60 (including travel - petrol) on her usual shop, actually her shop included washing powder(ariel) etc, which are only bought once a month.

When Dundalk was booming many shops in Dundalk chose to employ foreigners living in the town because they could pay them less. Nothing against foreigners as they have the same right to work as everyone else here, but why should the people of Dundalk have to pay much more for goods and services when they can be found cheaper across the border? Especially when the shops did nothing for locals, and then they go to the Argus and Democrat and ask for our loyalty?

Also I purchased some accsesorys for my Xbox 360 in Newry last week, they cost me £20, in Dundalk the cheapest I could find them was for €45. Now how can I be expected to pay €45 wehn I cant get a job and Im a student in the college?

Dundalk retailers brought this on themselves

Whiskey Devil

Interesting point Cpt. Tremendous but I work in recruitment (worked on behalf of Dunnes and Tescos in the past) and I can tell you that Irish people didn't want work in Dunnes when things were going well. Polish people were willing to to do the jobs Irish people thought they were too good for. With wealth comes snobbery. Dunnes are not to blame for that.


The problem with spending your money over the border is when things are bad, like they are now - you are taking much needed revenue for Public Services and Welfare out of the country. The British government won't pay your dole if you lose your job!


I can understand people's fury at the the scandalous overcharging in this country but taking your business over the border is a little short sighted in my opinion - it could do more harm than good in the longer term.

Hopefully they'll take notice of the numbers crossing the border and do something about it!!

Cpt Tremendous

Whiskey Devil wrote: »

The problem with spending your money over the border is when things are bad, like they are now - you are taking much needed revenue for Public Services and Welfare out of the country. The British government won't pay your dole if you lose your job!

I can understand people's fury at the the scandalous overcharging in this country but taking your business over the border is a little short sighted in my opinion - it could do more harm than good in the longer term.

Hopefully they'll take notice of the numbers crossing the border and do something about it!!

Whiskey Devil, you made a few interesting points there, the British government wont pay my dole, but at the same time neither will the Irish government if it keeps going the way its going. I can appreciate that going up North isn't going to solve our countries economic problems, but why should we (the tax paying public) be out money because our government are making a mess of our money. If you read this weeks Argus you will see that the HSE are spending €3 billion a year on unused property, now surely that money could be used to better the economy.

Let me re phrase the point I was making.

If you make €100 a week after tax, and you need to get a weekly shop. Which would you pick? Superquinn, who are far far more expensive but if you stick with them, they will pay you €75 a week when you lose your job....OR, you could go to Tescos, who are far far cheaper now they wont pay you any money when you lose your job, but if you were smart you would use the money your saving and put it in bank account or save it in a safe at home, and then when or if you lose your job you will have a nice little cushion to fall back on.

Now, which sounds better?

Whiskey Devil

Whiskey Devil wrote: »

The problem with spending your money over the border is when things are bad, like they are now - you are taking much needed revenue for Public Services and Welfare out of the country. The British government won't pay your dole if you lose your job!


I can understand people's fury at the the scandalous overcharging in this country but taking your business over the border is a little short sighted in my opinion - it could do more harm than good in the longer term.

Hopefully they'll take notice of the numbers crossing the border and do something about it!!

I take it you can afford to do all your shopping here in the south but for the majority of people they now have no choice but to go up north, others just realized that we're being fleeched here in the south. You can't blame people for going up north, afterall Mary Harney did tell us to shop around :rolleyes:.

I myself do most of my shopping up north and really have no other choice but too if I want to pay all my bills. A 15 minute drive and weekly I'm saving double figures, I saved well over a thousand at Xmas, it's just pure madness the savings.
I know some people and government say well it's higher costs, vat etc... here in the south but it still doesn't add up, it's just pure greed and profiteering here.

As for the recent loyalty and patriotism thing the media and government liked shouting about, my loyalty and patriotism starts with myself, my family and my pocket first and foremost. As for our government showing the same for the people of Ireland and helping us in these harsh times, I just can't see it, our own TD/Minister Dermot Ahern is more concerned about resettling and offering homes to prisoners from Guantanamo Bay :mad:. What about all the money our own government has wasted and still wasting.

Whiskey Devil

Cpt Tremendous wrote: »

Whiskey Devil, you made a few interesting points there, the British government wont pay my dole, but at the same time neither will the Irish government if it keeps going the way its going. I can appreciate that going up North isn't going to solve our countries economic problems, but why should we (the tax paying public) be out money because our government are making a mess of our money. If you read this weeks Argus you will see that the HSE are spending €3 billion a year on unused property, now surely that money could be used to better the economy.

Let me re phrase the point I was making.

If you make €100 a week after tax, and you need to get a weekly shop. Which would you pick? Superquinn, who are far far more expensive but if you stick with them, they will pay you €75 a week when you lose your job....OR, you could go to Tescos, who are far far cheaper now they wont pay you any money when you lose your job, but if you were smart you would use the money your saving and put it in bank account or save it in a safe at home, and then when or if you lose your job you will have a nice little cushion to fall back on.

Now, which sounds better?

Nice analogy. :pac:

It's a fair argument you make but whether people are actually putting by what they're saving I'm not sure. I'm a little sceptical on that. If everybody took the same attitude the country would probably never recover.

But I understand you're reasons anyway. I think they'll have no choice but to take notice and do something about it!

There will be many valuable lessons learned from all this.

Luckily I don't own any property or drive a BMW..

Whiskey Devil

Whiskey Devil wrote: »

But I understand you're reasons anyway. I think they'll have no choice but to take notice and do something about it!

There will be many valuable lessons learned from all this.

Luckily I don't own any property or drive a BMW..

Thank god I don't have a mortgage (was considering it this time last year but chose not too) or a fancy car, they would of been long gone by now for me.

All of the trade that is going up north will and is to some extent having a knock on effect here on business but it's not the source of the problem nor is it the sole cause for places closing. Businesses, services and governmet just got too blinded and greedy by the "celtic tiger boom" and now that times have change they are either too stupid or still greedy that they will not lower costs here, it can be and must be done if our economy is to survive but by the looks of things we have the wrong government to do it and before long it will be too late to make such a change.

Whiskey Devil

hellboy99 wrote: »

I take it you can afford to do all your shopping here in the south but for the majority of people they now have no choice but to go up north, others just realized that we're being fleeched here in the south. You can't blame people for going up north, afterall Mary Harney did tell us to shop around :rolleyes:.

I myself do most of my shopping up north and really have no other choice but too if I want to pay all my bills. A 15 minute drive and weekly I'm saving double figures, I saved well over a thousand at Xmas, it's just pure madness the savings.
I know some people and government say well it's higher costs, vat etc... here in the south but it still doesn't add up, it's just pure greed and profiteering here.

As for the recent loyalty and patriotism thing the media and government liked shouting about, my loyalty and patriotism starts with myself, my family and my pocket first and foremost. As for our government showing the same for the people of Ireland and helping us in these harsh times, I just can't see it, our own TD/Minister Dermot Ahern is more concerned about resettling and offering homes to prisoners from Guantanamo Bay :mad:. What about all the money our own government has wasted and still wasting.

I work a fairly regular job, live with my gf and we're paying the equivalent of a mortgage every month. I'm not trying to lecture people or have a go at them for shopping over the border. Things are tight for me too! Just so you don't think I'm some kind of rich snob. :pac:

I completely understand your predicament.

Whiskey Devil

Whiskey Devil wrote: »

I work a fairly regular job, live with my gf and we're paying the equivalent of a mortgage every month. I'm not trying to lecture people or have a go at them for shopping over the border. Things are tight for me too! Just so you don't think I'm some kind of rich snob. :pac:

I completely understand your predicament.

I didn't think of you as that , I know some people that are finding it hard to make ends meet and refuse to spend their money up north, it's their choice (a stubborn choice if you ask me) but for me and many others that have families and less money coming in, going cross-border makes a lot of sense and the savings pays the bills.

Whiskey Devil

hellboy99 wrote: »

Thank god I don't have a mortgage (was considering it this time last year but chose not too) or a fancy car, they would of been long gone by now for me.

All of the trade that is going up north will and is to some extent having a knock on effect here on business but it's not the source of the problem nor is it the sole cause for places closing. Businesses, services and governmet just got too blinded and greedy by the "celtic tiger boom" and now that times have change they are either too stupid or still greedy that they will not lower costs here, it can be and must be done if our economy is to survive but by the looks of things we have the wrong government to do it and before long it will be too late to make such a change.

People also have to take respsonsibilty for their own actions. Banks didn't force anybody to buy houses they couldnt afford, or brand new Mercs and holiday homes in France. We can't blame bankers and politicians for everything. Greed and snobbery got the better of a lot of people.

Whiskey Devil

Whiskey Devil wrote: »

Greed and snobbery got the better of a lot of people.

With out a doubt and they are paying the price now, and there was me thinking I was smart with the bit of money I did have and putting it into a retirement bond, bad idea that was.

Cpt Tremendous

Whiskey Devil wrote: »

People also have to take respsonsibilty for their own actions. Banks didn't force anybody to buy houses they couldnt afford, or brand new Mercs and holiday homes in France. We can't blame bankers and politicians for everything.

Yeah thats very true as well, everyone tried getting on the property ladder, what they didn't realize was once they were on the ladder all it took was one cock up at the top and everyone comes tumbling down.

As for the banks, well we wont even start discussing that, we all just began living way beyond our means, and we must take responsibility, and the Government really does need to step up and take some positive action.
Raising the VAT rate was a huge mistake seeing as the Brits lowered theirs, that further encouraged people to go North, and now they want to introduce tuition fees between €4000 and €8000, as well as a Graduate Tax which will apply for 10 years after you graduate. People will simply stop going to colleges and when we work our way out of this recession we wont have people qualified to do the jobs and end up worse then we are now.

I realize thats a little off topic but it was used as an example of some of the negative measures the Government is trying to implement.

Personally I cannot offer a solution to the problem but I do know that what they are doing is insane!

WarrenpointPat

This is my first post on the forum and it seems a very interesting place. I'm a Warrenpoint man but my late mum was really a Co Louth woman with Dundalk / Louth / Mullaghcrew connections !

How many times over the years have fortunes changed on both sides of the border? I can remember shopping frequently in Dundalk in the days that the 'old' shopping centre seemed bright and beautiful....long time ago now ! . THe Marshes is a wonderful place but I could not afford to shop there !

Until quite recently I would , like many other drivers be filling up at Dundalk or Omeath....not so now as it is hardly worth the effort ! I just feel so sorry for the staff of shops that are closing and it looks like it will be getting much worse before it starts to get better. I do think there is a strong arguement for governments north and south to try to harmonise the tax systems but that of course would get the hackles up among certain politicians !

Currently I think Newry and other border towns are benefitting from a false sense of security that is masking the true effect of the recession...but it will come !

In Newry it is the large multi-national shops that are benefitting and when you leave aside the wages they are paying, the profit is all heading straight back to wealthy share holders across the globe..not to locals ! The small family owned shops in Newry are not really benefitting. Now the talk is that Tesco is planning a store on the Downshire Road / Belfast Road area of Newry. Asda is desperate to get in on the act (I frequently shop in Asda in Kilkeel and often see many Co Louth cars heading through Warrenpoint and on down to the car park at Asda. These large multi-nationals don't really care about the community...fair enough they pay wages but they usually are about killing the opposition and when the local shops are gone they put their prices up. I have also noticed a difference between some of their prices in Newry and other parts of Northen Ireland...I suspect they feel they can get away with charging more in Newry as the shoppers from the south will buy anyway!

southlouth type

I wonder how long this can go on for tbh .Drogheda is really feeling this aswell , not as much as dundalk obviously but its enough that lots of the business in town is really hurting from it .At the some time we have a brand new tesco and aldi store just opened .I work in Belfast and have noticed a big rise in southern reg cars going into the city .Can blame anyone for going to get bargains though , children to feed etc .

indiewindy

Superquinn employs 67 in Dundalk, lidl employ 21 in a slightly smaller store, superquinn employ people to pack your bags! sad to see them go but hey were overstaffed and didnt have range of other supermarkets. Cdworld are still hanging on in that centre. That end of town is in pretty bad shape with half Clanbrasil Street shuttered up or tacky stores, with penneys only staying the long walk becuase they coulnt break their lease, the futures not too good for that spot either

fun4a11

Was that area not meant to redeveloped?

Look at this topic from a few months ago
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055366498

TommyT

Does Dundalk really need so many half empty shopping centres?
The original shopping centre has been slowly dying for years. Tesco are supposedly going to take it over and open a superstore, but we really need a shop that big in these times?
The long walk is as about as inviting as any of the pubs in Bridge St. Thanks but no thanks.
The other one where Superquinn is located has been very quiet for years, there were rumours of Superquinns demise for years, sadly it came true this week. The rest of the shops wont be there in 6 months.
As a previous poster has said, the Marshes is very expensive, if the shop owners want to continue with their crazy prices, the Marshes will go the same way as the rest of them. The Northern branches of most of the multi-nationals in town are usually 30-40% percent cheaper, people are voting with their wallets in these times. Patriotism, like charity begins at home.
We were in Sainsburys in Newry this evening, the shelves were almost bare. Anything worth buying had gone, it had been picked bare by southern shoppers, taking advantage not only of the favourable exchange rates, but more importantly the much cheaper prices 13 miles up the road. If Dundalk town centre is to have a future, our local minister is going to have to sit down with his government cronies and work something out, not just for this town, but for every town in the country. They turned a blind eye when rip off Ireland was nothing more than a cash cow for the Government coffers, but now that funds are running low and calls for patriotism in shoppers is falling on deaf ears they are going to have to do something and do it quickly.
The loss of Superquinn is just the start, there will be many more job losses in town in the coming months. Our TDs may not be in danger of losing their jobs because of the economic downturn, but they will be calling to ask for our votes sometime in the next couple of years.

RONOC08

i really am going to miss those sausages and the bread:(

Superquinn opening back up in CV ?

Mr Magnolia

hellboy99 wrote: »

Superquinn opening back up in CV ?

Source?

Mr Magnolia

Mr Magnolia wrote: »

Source?

I was told by a friend, something to do with a lease and it's more financially viable for them to honor it and reopen the store than pulling out and paying it off.

Until I see it printed in a paper for now it's not 100%, just thought someone else here might have heard the same and could verify it.

Mr Magnolia

hellboy99 wrote: »

I was told by a friend, something to do with a lease and it's more financially viable for them to honor it and reopen the store than pulling out and paying it off.

Until I see it printed in a paper for now it's not 100%, just thought someone else here might have heard the same and could verify it.

I didn't hear anything but I imagine they would have sorted that out before vacating and paying redundancies etc.

Would love to see them back though.

Mr Magnolia

Mr Magnolia wrote: »

I didn't hear anything but I imagine they would have sorted that out before vacating and paying redundancies etc.

That's what I thought too.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Heard it 2 weeks ago from a former employee who was offered her job back.

milly4ever

it would be great if it opened again- it would be a lot handier for me as i love going there as a treat every now and again.

it's a bit mad choosing to shop in the south i know, but there are no upmarket supermarkets in the north!

10green bottles

they(superquinn) have a 15 year lease to honour,in fact THEY have been pushing for some other "chain" to take it over.Carroll Village have rightly taken them down the legal road and now it looks like SQ will have to move back in themselves,ala Pennys when they tried to close in the Longwalk.

indiewindy

10green bottles wrote: »

they(superquinn) have a 15 year lease to honour,in fact THEY have been pushing for some other "chain" to take it over.Carroll Village have rightly taken them down the legal road and now it looks like SQ will have to move back in themselves,ala Pennys when they tried to close in the Longwalk.

Yes,that makes sense

bigneacy

it'll be great if they came back... I was in there the other day (using the car park for the cinema) for the first time in a year. Its shocking in there, 3 stores open and little cafe anne still battering away against the odds! be good to see it getting a new lease of life.

gonker

Heard that the ex Halifax staff have gotten jobs there but the terms and conditions are not great. Minimum wage and no sick pay.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

gonker wrote: »

Heard that the ex Halifax staff have gotten jobs there ...

Oh come on! So some people who worked in Halifax are getting jobs there. So are some people who used to work for Superquinn before it closed. So are people who worked in neither. Only some people who worked in Halifax have been offered jobs but by no means all of them. Maybe I'm being a pedant but I hate exaggeration.

10green bottles

Superquinn opened their first supermarket in Clanbrassil St. Dundalk in 1960.
It would be ironic that they are forced back to the town on their 50th anniversary:p
It might not be all bad for them though,Pennys(ditto the above)are going ok in the Longwalk.
During the "BOOM" a lot of buissneses moved out of towns,to retail parks and the same was true in Dundalk.That trend seems to be on the reverse now and Dundalk is a good example of this.Several such outfits have come back to the town centre including Wogans,Marmions and C-Discount @dearys.My opinion is that Heatons should have taken over Dearys or Toymaster(clanbrassil st.) instead of heading out the road to retail hell.
There is a good positive vibrancy now in the town centre and long may it continue.

ps-hello Dunny:D

gonker

Elora Gigantic Martini wrote: »

Oh come on! So some people who worked in Halifax are getting jobs there. So are some people who used to work for Superquinn before it closed. So are people who worked in neither. Only some people who worked in Halifax have been offered jobs but by no means all of them. Maybe I'm being a pedant but I hate exaggeration.

I said I heard that the ex Halifax staff have gotten jobs there. Not ALL the ex Halifax staff have gotten jobs there I didn't say no one else got jobs there I was just posting some good news for a change regarding the jobs market...who burst your balloon?:rolleyes: :-)

workstoomuch

when does superquinn reopen?

cookies221

So SuperQuinn in Dundalk has been ordered to reopen. Anybody have any idea when hiring will take place? There should be over 60 jobs available, a mixture of full-time and part-time. Expect there to be stiff competition for them though.

The whole Carroll Village complex is dead as we all know. Do you think the re-opening of SuperQuinn will stimulate the opening of new businesses in the other vacant retail units? Budget Travel, the Bus Stop newsagents....they've all since closed.

sylvesterallein

Superquinn Greystones are a lot cheaper than Tesco same place for gluten-free products, particularly bread. I hope they don't close.