Marks and Spencer

J.pilkington

Not fully "Rip off ireland" more "Rip off retailer"

This was featured on some radio shows this morning so thoughts I would share even though it will be no surprise to most that these large UK based outlets still see Ireland as Treasure Ireland and continue to push the boundary on how much they can extract from the Irish shopper while high fiving each other over back at their UK HQ's. Most of these UK outlets have laid off their Irish back office staff (tesco included) and run Ireland similar to how they run their Birmingham regional stores so the argument that running costs are more expensive don't stack up.

https://www.irishtimes.com/business/retail-and-services/m-s-charges-irish-shoppers-up-to-39-more-than-uk-counterparts-for-christmas-products-1.3252787

M&S Rant: Marks and Spencer contribute the least of any food store to Ireland. They run their Irish business from the UK which includes Ordering, HR, Finance, IT, Legal, Marketing etc and have almost zero staff outside of the store staff themselves. They stock almost zero Irish produce, in fact they dont even have a distribution centre in Ireland (only large retailer who do not) and ship in a huge amount of trailers of food from the Uk each day. These trailers are loaded full of British produce (which they pride themselves on) at their UK distribution centres by UK staff and then its sent to Dublin via ferry. They accept very little stock if any from local retailers (even their milk is British).

I guess what I am saying is if you really care about the Irish economy and your pocket then avoid M&S! Plenty of other large and small retailers offering similar quality food at cheaper prices.

You will note that they don't even acknowledge our neighbours from the North, their main marketing campaign is British this and British which technically does not include Northern Ireland!

Xterminator

they managed to get quite a bit of bad press yesterday on this issue.

hopefully ROI shoppers will vote with their feet.

CeilingFly

I never understand the media's obsession with this.

Maybe The IT Indo etc should drop their prices to those of equivalent UK newspapers? - the IT is almost 30% more expensive than London Times. The arw material (newsprint paper) is purchased at similar price as is the ink.

In M&S the rent is paid here at local rates - it does not change with currency, nor do rates, electricity, staff etc etc etc etc etc.

The cost price is similar, but that only make up a portion of the overall price.

Xterminator

all valid points, but 40% mark up is over the top. they have the right to charge what they like, and only falling customer numbers will force them to moderate their approach.

A very good example of this is tesco ireland. look at the changes in pricing implemented to increase falling market share & address competition of lidl/aldi
https://food-and-community.tesco.ie/home/the-800/

J.pilkington

CeilingFly wrote: »

I never understand the media's obsession with this.

Maybe The IT Indo etc should drop their prices to those of equivalent UK newspapers? - the IT is almost 30% more expensive than London Times. The arw material (newsprint paper) is purchased at similar price as is the ink.

In M&S the rent is paid here at local rates - it does not change with currency, nor do rates, electricity, staff etc etc etc etc etc.

The cost price is similar, but that only make up a portion of the overall price.

I think it would be a mistake to compare an Indo article to an IT article. I think the linked article from the IT is well researched and well written and makes a very good point and presents facts in a non sensationalist manner.

As I said in my OP these UK retailers are taking the piss with the Irish shopper and it’s articles like these that expose them, customers don’t give a second thought to how their shopping habits impact their pockets / Irish economy so the more information out there the better.

ben.schlomo

Where did you pull the 'almost zero of their produce is Irish' from? The majority of their poultry, fresh meat, bread products and unless its changed the milk is also Irish, the eggs too and Keelings fruit during season etc are sourced here. Easier to rant like a red top than do your research?

Zoot1530

shelves where empty during foot and mouth outbreak

Rodin

J.pilkington wrote: »

Not fully "Rip off ireland" more "Rip off retailer"

This was featured on some radio shows this morning so thoughts I would share even though it will be no surprise to most that these large UK based outlets still see Ireland as Treasure Ireland and continue to push the boundary on how much they can extract from the Irish shopper while high fiving each other over back at their UK HQ's. Most of these UK outlets have laid off their Irish back office staff (tesco included) and run Ireland similar to how they run their Birmingham regional stores so the argument that running costs are more expensive don't stack up.

https://www.irishtimes.com/business/retail-and-services/m-s-charges-irish-shoppers-up-to-39-more-than-uk-counterparts-for-christmas-products-1.3252787

M&S Rant: Marks and Spencer contribute the least of any food store to Ireland. They run their Irish business from the UK which includes Ordering, HR, Finance, IT, Legal, Marketing etc and have almost zero staff outside of the store staff themselves. They stock almost zero Irish produce, in fact they dont even have a distribution centre in Ireland (only large retailer who do not) and ship in a huge amount of trailers of food from the Uk each day. These trailers are loaded full of British produce (which they pride themselves on) at their UK distribution centres by UK staff and then its sent to Dublin via ferry. They accept very little stock if any from local retailers (even their milk is British).

I guess what I am saying is if you really care about the Irish economy and your pocket then avoid M&S! Plenty of other large and small retailers offering similar quality food at cheaper prices.

You will note that they don't even acknowledge our neighbours from the North, their main marketing campaign is British this and British which technically does not include Northern Ireland!

N.Ireland is considered British by the UK government but not part of Great Britain.

coylemj

Rodin wrote: »

N.Ireland is considered British by the UK government but not part of Great Britain.

NI is considered to be 'British' only by Ulster Unionists, the UK government considers it to be part of the UK.

Which it is.

SCOOP 64

M&S is always over priced be it UK or Ireland, surprised anyone would do the weekly shop there.

Zoot1530

which will no doubt get more expensive when tariffs come in to consideration after Uk leave EU, border or no border,

prinzeugen

SCOOP 64 wrote: »

M&S is always over priced be it UK or Ireland, surprised anyone would do the weekly shop there.

When did you go in there last?

There are some great deals which makes them cheaper than Tesco/Dunnes if you prepared to buy what is on offer and are not looking for something specific.

Take the dine in for 2.

A whole chicken, bottle of wine, side & desert can be had for €14.

There are always offers on on other stuff.

Stephen15

I've never been a big fan but I used to get the odd bit in there now and again and I have to say I noticed a general detoriation in the quality of the stuff there in the last few years. For example I used to be a fan of their bakery stuff bread and pastries used to quite nice but now they've gone down hill big time with that stuff poorer quality and less selection of stuff.

Zoot1530

M&S share price is interesting,shares where worth more at this time in 1994

Creative83

M&S have been ripping off Irish consumers for decades.

There have been comparisons done in the Irish media between the UK & Irish prices... clear as day

prinzeugen

Creative83 wrote: »

M&S have been ripping off Irish consumers for decades.

There have been comparisons done in the Irish media between the UK & Irish prices... clear as day

They are not ripping Irish people off.

They are not going to be the same. VAT is higher here and you have transport costs and different wage structures, business rates, rent etc. Then you have currency fluctuations to deal with.

There are 101 reasons why stuff from a UK chain is more expensive here. Its the same with JD sports etc.

Zoot1530

Very heavy on packaging materials also, one of the main offenders

prinzeugen

Zoot1530 wrote: »

Very heavy on packaging materials also, one of the main offenders

Most can be recycled. They made a point of that.

They also introduced the packaging for raw chicken to reduce the risk of food poisoning.

Buy a raw chicken and chuck it in the oven, packaging and all.

Other shops are copying them now.

Dunnes at the moment is the worst offender for unnecessary packaging.

Zoot1530

Will any Irish stores be affected with the planned closure of 100

CeilingFly

Zoot1530 wrote: »

Will any Irish stores be affected with the planned closure of 100

Concensus in the trade is a couple of secondary stores may be affected.

Killarney just about made the cut in their previous Irish review.

You may also find the product mix in stores will change. Example Newbridge change to all food.

Zoot1530

landscape changing a lot at a really fast pace. if the company gets relegated to the FTSE 2nd division (250) it will be a defining moment

CeilingFly

M&S confirm no stores in Ireland affected and also embarking on repricing of many food goods here immediately.

Maybe they finally listened to the bad publicity of their excessive pricing here.

lisasimpson

They could do with looking into their returns policy as well for online shopping esp if its their target area. I order something in size 12 they sent me a size 6 even though the papper work that came in the package stated 12. When i went to return it (no store near me hence on line) i had to go to the hassle of paying the postage then take a picture of the postage receip and email it to them to get a refund on the postage even though it was their mistake.. it kindoff put me using them online

Zoot1530

prices should have been cut a long time now, since brexit announced, sterling has devalued as compared to euro so the fact that prices are only on the table now is a bit strange. you can buy cars up North for savings of up to 3 grand ( as reported in media some time ago). but this will not last when tarrifs and costs come in to play (labeling etc)

Zoot1530

So Brexit still hasn't happened yet, but not looking good for a deal of any sort,Trump rallying behind a no deal crash out and still no power share in North, Prices will spike it wont be possible to shop in an outlet which rely on imports into republic. Bad outlook all round, Look at how much shares have fallen in M&S