Fair play Easons.

squod

The company has put its property assets in the UK and its interests in South Africa up for sale as it withdraws from what it considers to be “non-core” activities and focuses its efforts exclusively on the island of Ireland.

The proceeds should be material to the company and will be used to help fund its planned €20 million investment in the Irish business over the next three years.

Selling it's UK assets to support it's stores and jobs over here. Fairplay. It seems they're determined to use their investments to support Irish jobs into the near future.

Dravokivich

Might help if people had to buy the books instead of reading'em for free.

thecornflake

squod wrote: »

Selling it's UK assets to support it's stores and jobs over here. Fairplay. It seems they're determined to use their investments to support Irish jobs into the near future.

That could just be a cover story.

Plug

The English, a great bunch of lads....

alexjk

It's not like they're doing it to be nice. They probably realise that it would take far too much effort and money to get a decent share in the British market when they could just dominate the Irish one.

Vicxas

While I applaud the idea, there has to be something they're up to...

CreepingDeath

I doubt it's for charitable reasons, I'd say they can overcharge the Irish more and get away with it, while abroad they have more competition.

Phill Ewinn

Go on Easons, giz a job. Go on. I can do that!

NTMK

squod wrote: »

Selling it's UK assets to support it's stores and jobs over here. Fairplay. It seems they're determined to use their investments to support Irish jobs into the near future.

I bet you wont be saying that when english stores start pulling out of ireland

Judgement Day

Easons - the company that took out Fred Hanna.

kfallon

squod wrote: »

Selling it's UK assets to support it's stores and jobs over here. Fairplay. It seems they're determined to use their investments to support Irish jobs into the near future.

Afternoon Mr Eason

Nijmegen

Any news of an investment in Ireland is good news.

hinault

I make it my business to buy my books in Irish owned shops.

Easons get most of my business but so did companies like Hughes & Hughes and several others.

Badgermonkey

squod wrote: »

Selling it's UK assets to support it's stores and jobs over here. Fairplay. It seems they're determined to use their investments to support Irish jobs into the near future.

Or they overextended themselves entering into competition for dwindling market share in a territory well served by well established brands with greater resources.

temply

squod wrote: »

Selling it's UK assets to support it's stores and jobs over here. Fairplay. It seems they're determined to use their investments to support Irish jobs into the near future.

And rip off the irish punter!

Stopped shopping in there years ago - they charge ridiculous prices.

Book Depositry all the way - Easons can jog on.

General General

temply wrote: »

And rip off the irish punter!

Stopped shopping in there years ago - they charge ridiculous prices.

Book Depositry all the way - Easons can jog on.

Loike, out in Santry, mon?

temply

General General wrote: »

Loike, out in Santry, mon?

http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/

Free delivery n all

bonzodog2

temply wrote: »

http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/

Free delivery n all

Are they near the grassy knoll ?

Guy:Incognito

NTMK wrote: »

I bet you wont be saying that when english stores start pulling out of ireland

Not everyone is a simple minded rabbler.

Criticising British companies for closing Irish branches to keep British ones afloat would be stupid.

squod

CreepingDeath wrote: »

I doubt it's for charitable reasons, I'd say they can overcharge the Irish more and get away with it, while abroad they have more competition.

Shure isn't that what they all do? Anyways, its good news if they're keeping jobs here.

Nijmegen wrote: »

Any news of an investment in Ireland is good news.

+1

G_R

Be positive people. Stop trying to find fault with everything.

This is good news, an investment of €20m can't do the Irish Economy any harm, only good.

Einhard

squod wrote: »

Selling it's UK assets to support it's stores and jobs over here. Fairplay. It seems they're determined to use their investments to support Irish jobs into the near future.

I imagine that their primary motivation is protecting their bottom line by raising funds in order to boost the productivity of their more profitable Irish operations. Nothing really to do with altruism and patriotic fervour.

Dr.Silly

squod wrote: »

Selling it's UK assets to support it's stores and jobs over here. Fairplay. It seems they're determined to use their investments to support Irish jobs into the near future.

Tell me you're not that gulibable to think they're actually doing this to support Ireland :rolleyes:

dpe

temply wrote: »

And rip off the irish punter!

Stopped shopping in there years ago - they charge ridiculous prices.

Book Depositry all the way - Easons can jog on.

Mate of mine is the MD of The Book Depository. Top bloke.

Physical bookstores are doomed (unfortunately) along with music and game stores. The only place you'll be able to buy a physical book, game, DVD or CD five years from now will be online, the supermarket and the odd small independent. Which will be a shame as I enjoy browsing in the likes of H&F, but piracy and crap margins mean its just a matter of time now, so Easons are just putting a bit of a positive Irish PR spin on what's actually inevitable retrenchment (for exactly the same reason Waterstones quit Ireland a few months ago).

m5ex9oqjawdg2i

Seriously? Fair play? Don't think for one second that any for profit organisation will ever make a decision based on you. To think that Easons is doing us some sort of favour is a load of balls. It's quite naive. They look at figures and decide where they will make their most profit or which area has the least amount of risk. They chose Ireland because they will make more money from that market...

squod

Dr.Silly wrote: »

Tell me you're not that gulibable to think they're actually doing this to support Ireland :rolleyes:

I don't care why they're doing it! I've seen people close their doors and protect their profits while they ride out the recession in southern Spain. maybe they have their own selfish reasons but at least they're trying.

m5ex9oqjawdg2i

squod wrote: »

I don't care why they're doing it! I've seen people close their doors and protect their profits while they ride out the recession in southern Spain. maybe they have their own selfish reasons but at least they're trying.

What a naive post...

You think Easons would take a hit for the people of Ireland? Like fcuk they would. They'd shít all over you just to save a few euro.

squod

Ayaan Thoughtless Stenographer wrote: »

What a naive post...

You think Easons would take a hit for the people of Ireland? Like fcuk they would. They'd shít all over you just to save a few euro.

Easons up here is mostly empty, most of the time. What would you prefer. More people on the scratcher for AH to moan about? Ayaan Thoughtless Stenographer if I ever become as sour as you I will instruct my OH to shoot me.

Run_to_da_hills

Dravokivich wrote: »

Might help if people had to buy the books instead of reading'em for free.

There use to be an elderly woman that worked in the Dunlaoghaire branch that would walk up and down the magazine and book stands telling people not to be reading their magazines / books.

ejmaztec

Don't Easons, along with News Brothers, control the prices of imported books, magazines and newspapers, so that we have to part with big bucks for the privilege of buying any of them here?

Dman001

They aren't doing this out of their loyalty of Ireland, they are doing it solely because it makes financial sense. Books are slowly dying, being replaced by eBooks but eBook Readers haven't fully taken off in Ireland. Easons should focus on eBook sales, or they'll soon find themselves in the same shoes as Xtravision.

Judgement Day

Easons lost the run of themselves during the Celtic Tiger with crazy expansion - like the Fred Hanna debacle - and are now in dire straits. To survive they will have to retrench big time. They lost €10 million in 2009 but only €4.4 million in 2010 and I wouldn't be surprised to see a raft of shop closures in the coming years. They may have a stranglehold on the wholesale and retail book business in Ireland but as another poster pointed out, the future of bookselling has moved off the high street but nobody has told Easons.

More here from a recent edition of the Irish Times:
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/finance/2011/0617/1224299069100.html

temply

Ayaan Thoughtless Stenographer wrote: »

What a naive post...

You think Easons would take a hit for the people of Ireland? Like fcuk they would. They'd shít all over you just to save a few euro.

too right

Daegerty

Plug wrote: »

The English, a great bunch of lads....

Auwoight?!

Toby Take a Bow

ejmaztec wrote: »

Don't Easons, along with News Brothers, control the prices of imported books, magazines and newspapers, so that we have to part with big bucks for the privilege of buying any of them here?

They don't control the prices on books imported, but the conversion they give on books from the UK etc is far more than in other bookshops. A lot of independent bookshops use (or: have to use) Eason wholesale, and get thoroughly ripped off. In order to make a profit, they have to pass on the increased price, which gives the impression that your local independent is ripping you off (sometimes they are, but not always).

Dman001 wrote: »

They aren't doing this out of their loyalty of Ireland, they are doing it solely because it makes financial sense. Books are slowly dying, being replaced by eBooks but eBook Readers haven't fully taken off in Ireland. Easons should focus on eBook sales, or they'll soon find themselves in the same shoes as Xtravision.

You're probably right on eBooks, although any of the sales figures for eBooks are completely skewed, as the traditional means of telling you what's selling and what's not selling, Nielsen, can't release figures for eBooks because Amazon have such a monopoly on sales. So, Amazon release their own figures, which many people claim are trying to give the impression that eBooks are far outselling paper books. They may be, but probably not at the rate they'd like you to believe (Amazon make much more profit from an eBook than from a cheap paperback, or an even cheaper second hand one).

But you're definitely right about Eason not looking out for the Irish punter in any way. They've continually fcked over their workers, and would do it all again given half the chance:

http://www.thebookseller.com/news/eason-booksellers-bonus-deferred-while-business-reviewed.html

http://www.thebookseller.com/news/eason-trade-union-talks-begin.html

Solnskaya

Probably got more to do with the massive white elephant they built out by the airport complete with state-of-my-arse automated conveyor system that barely works. The massive over-investment in this distribution hub may have strangled them financially. Much like a lot of people are selling up their holiday homes abroad "to concentrate on their Irish properties"(translation-try to avoid going broke.)

stevejr

So let me get this straight, a company that has employed thousands of Irish people down the years decide, regardless of the reasons, to invest in Ireland yet again, this time to the tune of €20million. And there are people on here bashing them.

If we could magically turn Begrudgery and Mean-spiritedness into a product that foreigners would buy because of it's unique Irishness, our recession would have been over before it started....

The mind boggles.

Helix

hinault wrote: »

I make it my business to buy my books in Irish owned shops.

i prefer to buy wherever can offer me the best price

aligator_am

CreepingDeath wrote: »

I doubt it's for charitable reasons, I'd say they can overcharge the Irish more and get away with it, while abroad they have more competition.

I agree, have Waterstones and Hoggis Figgis left Ireland now? if so then Easons' main competition would be REEDS OF NASSAU STREET (sorry that radio ad did my head in lol), as others have said, this may not be quite a philanthropic move on their part.

Toby Take a Bow

aligator_am wrote: »

I agree, have Waterstones and Hoggis Figgis left Ireland now? if so then Easons' main competition would be REEDS OF NASSAU STREET (sorry that radio ad did my head in lol), as others have said, this may not be quite a philanthropic move on their part.

Eason own Reeds. They bought out Fred Hanna, destroyed the shop on Nassau Street, tried to compete with Reeds (and Waterstone's, and Hodges) failed miserably, bought up Reeds and solved the problem that way. Thanks Eason! Hodges Figgis is still there, it was just the Waterstone's shops that left Dublin (there are still Waterstone's in Cork, Drogheda and Northern Ireland). Eason's main competition (in Dublin), with the Jervis Waterstone's gone, would be Chapters.

Toby Take a Bow

stevejr wrote: »

So let me get this straight, a company that has employed thousands of Irish people down the years decide, regardless of the reasons, to invest in Ireland yet again, this time to the tune of €20million. And there are people on here bashing them.

The bashing is more due to the attempt to put a spin on the announcement that it's to 'invest in Ireland'. It's not: it's to 'shore up' profits (ie, try and prevent the company collapsing). If they didn't try and put a spin on it, I don't think people would have a problem with Eason. Apart from them overcharging on books, offering a cr*p selection and treating their workers like dogs.

Judgement Day

Chapters may appear independent but they are closely aligned to Eason as they only buy through their Wholesale division - try approaching them to take a book not handled by Eason. Eason demand 50%+ discount from publishers and that was in 1980 (!) before they had the market to themselves.

temply

Helix wrote: »

i prefer to buy wherever can offer me the best price

me too

squod

Toby Take a Bow wrote: »

The bashing is more due to the attempt to put a spin on the announcement that it's to 'invest in Ireland'. It's not: it's to 'shore up' profits (ie, try and prevent the company collapsing).

All of your points might be true. I started this thread to point out that a company like Easons are going to invest €20m in this country when they could well have sold off the UK side and put that money in a bank in Switzerland.

I'm not going to defend them from your allegations but point out that companies are fuhking off left right and centre over here. Either squeezing the tax payer through their political mates or riding out the recession in places like Spain.

Toby Take a Bow

Judgement Day wrote: »

Chapters may appear independent but they are closely aligned to Eason as they only buy through their Wholesale division - try approaching them to take a book not handled by Eason. Eason demand 50%+ discount from publishers and that was in 1980 (!) before they had the market to themselves.

I was under the impression they bought a lot of their stock from 'remaindered' companies (which is why a lot of their stock is being sold for half price or less). Also, we used to occasionally get stock meant for Chapters where I used to work, and it was stock bought directly from UK suppliers.

take everything

thecornflake wrote: »

That could just be a cover story.

Leaf it out.

Delancey

Hate to piss on anyones chips lads but the reason Easons are divesting themselves of overseas assets is that they are in a very serious financial position and my guess is their bankers are forcing these asset disposals.

Like so many others they overspent in the boom times on overpriced sites for shops and got themselves saddled with upward only rent reviews - these decisions are coming back to haunt them.

Miracle they haven't sold out to the likes of WH Smith.....yet.

jahalpin

Toby Take a Bow wrote: »

Eason own Reeds. They bought out Fred Hanna, destroyed the shop on Nassau Street, tried to compete with Reeds (and Waterstone's, and Hodges) failed miserably, bought up Reeds and solved the problem that way. Thanks Eason! Hodges Figgis is still there, it was just the Waterstone's shops that left Dublin (there are still Waterstone's in Cork, Drogheda and Northern Ireland). Eason's main competition (in Dublin), with the Jervis Waterstone's gone, would be Chapters.

The old Fred Hanna shop was a dump before Easons bought it. The new shop on the corner was very nice and had a good selection of books.

The Reads shop in Nassau Street was also a dump before Eason bought it. The new extended and refurbished shop is very nice and has a much better selection of books than it did when it was run by the old owners. The book prices there are also very competative. The stationery department is also a lot nicer and better stocked now.

Judgement Day

jahalpin wrote: »

The old Fred Hanna shop was a dump before Easons bought it. The new shop on the corner was very nice and had a good selection of books.

The Reads shop in Nassau Street was also a dump before Eason bought it. The new extended and refurbished shop is very nice and has a much better selection of books than it did when it was run by the old owners. The book prices there are also very competative. The stationery department is also a lot nicer and better stocked now.

What a load of tosh! Fred Hanna's was a Dublin institution and had a far more comprehensive stock than Eason's could ever aspire to. As for Reads, am I the only one to notice that their prices have risen since the takeover? There may be more books but the discounts aren't a patch on what they were previously.

OPENROAD

Couple of nice looking girls working in my local Easons

Delancey

OPENROAD wrote: »

Couple of nice looking girls working in my local Easons

Good for you , the ones in my local Easons have faces like scrapyard alsatians . You wouldn't use them for practice.