What if Tesco hadn't bought Quinnsworth?

Floppybits

Who bought HWilliams or did that just go out of business?

L1011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123261385#Comment_123261385

Nobody bought the entire operations. Some closed down permanently, some were bought out by Quinnsworth or a Supervalu franchiser and basically never closed, some closed but a new operator opened up where they had been.

I think there's a few cases where an existing smaller nearby operator moved in to the better H Williams space, so the physical store got reused but nothing else.

As an aside, the Tesco Ireland wikipedia page was massacred a few years ago, got rid of any reference to the 80s Tesco Ireland and has entirely inaccurate history of supermarket takeovers. Don't trust it for anything useful.

supereurope

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123261415#Comment_123261415

The Quinnsworth page isn't great for accuracy either. Example:

In 1972, the business, which by then had seven supermarkets (in Ballymun, Dundrum, Rathfarnham, Douglas, Wilton, Galway and Shannon), was acquired by Power Supermarkets Ltd, which in turn was owned by the Weston family and controlled the rival chain, Power's Supermarkets.

The Wilton SC opened in 1979, so there wasn't a Quinnsworth there in 1972. The seventh supermarket was in Stillorgan (the original site.)

I think quite a few Williams sites went to Dunnes as well…Tralee, Athlone, Sligo and Galway among them.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123261022#Comment_123261022

You're right. Maybe it wasn't as profitable as Tesco Ireland but it was a much nicer experience shopping there. Popped into Tesco yesterday to get buy my nephew an Easter egg…a Twirl one was € 7.50 without a Clubcard, € 3.50 with. I don't have a Clubcard and I don't want one, so I walked out empty-handed and down the street to Dunnes, where I paid € 4 without any loyalty scheme rubbish.

George White

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122943492#Comment_122943492

Allegedly, Grafton Street planners thought Pizza Express sounded too low-rent. But there already was a Pizza Express in Bray, IIRC.

Perhaps a similar thing to how a tiny Adelaide takeaway had the trademark in Australia for the name Burger King, so the Burger King franchise is called Hungry Jack's in Australia.

hoodie6029

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123261706#Comment_123261706

So you cost yourself 50 cent and whatever amount in time and petrol to go to another shop for the sake of not downloading a free app???

supereurope

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123275853#Comment_123275853

I don't have a car, and all I had to do was walk 90 seconds down the street. I'm not a frequent Tesco shopper because I don't particularly enjoy the Tesco shopping experience. I hate the fact they only want you using self-service checkouts and in some shops, they don't even have a manned till anymore. Many of its shops are dark and cold, and some are looking very dated as well. So there's no point in me signing up to Clubcard. The only reason I went to Tesco first last week was because it was the first supermarket I passed (and I wasn't aware of the big difference in price for Clubcard vs non-Clubcard holders)…had I passed Dunnes first, I'd have gone there first.

The short visit to Tesco was still useful, because it reminded me why I don't like shopping there.

RoTelly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123275893#Comment_123275893

I agree with much of this, and the clubcard prices are clearly there to sign you up to clubcard, some discounts aren't worth it, while others are unbelievable.

I do suspect that many retailers are providing similar discounts.

supereurope

The Tesco takeover was announced 28 years ago yesterday, and was the front page story on all the papers on this day in 1997.

https://www.rte.ie/archives/2017/0319/859919-tesco-to-take-over/

Hotblack Desiato

"PRICES MAY DROP" as if.

Instead we became "Treasure Island"

L1011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123284951#Comment_123284951

There was eventually a proper price war caused by a foreign supermarket chain in Ireland.

But it was Lidl (and/or Aldi), and in the late 00s/early 10s.

We now have fairly normal priced groceries; its just that people compare prices to the UK - for obvious reasons - which has exceptionally cheap groceries. Americans are often shocked at how cheap it is here, and we used to see it the other way.

Hotblack Desiato

Aside - fk that Roisin wan. The day she got lifted I was coming back from France through the Channel Tunnel, got held up for about an hour by Kent Constabulary (operating on the French side) for the crime of having an Irish passport, I only found out later why

Edit: Roisin McAliskey. She's on the front page of the Herald there

its_steve116

Maybe in an alternative universe we'd have Yellow Pack stores by now?

https://youtube.com/shorts/blwk9evjtzg

RoTelly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123568551#Comment_123568551

Lived in Canada for a few years, I found it very protective of its Canadian supermarkets, though I think they had Kmart though I was never in one. But Primark is a Canadian owned company and it has yet to set up in Canada, while Dollarama was a very poor Dollar Store. Bulk Buy was possibly an interesting concept but there weren't many of those store around at the time.

As for alcohol, while reform was happening, the province owns all the liquor stores, I know in Ontario the LCBO was losing that monopoly, with the intro of The Wine Store (They could only sell Canadian Cider and Wine, with 50% of the ingredients from Canadian grapes and apples / other fruits, odd store they had one Canadian Cider but there were some really good local brands in the Pubs and the LCBO that you couldn't get there) and the Beer Store*, which seems like it could sell any beer from around the world. But your spirits were only available from the LCBO, province run, which didn't open on a Sunday and wasn't open late, 8pm I think it closed.

I think wine is now also sold in Supermarkets.

*Possible Molson brew many international beers in Canada for the Canadian market, because I don't remember seeing major beer brands there save for Canadian, Asahi and I think Stella, I don't remember seeing Heineken but I don't drink it so I could have been there. Fairly sure Guinness and Harp weren't there.

Hotblack Desiato

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123568551#Comment_123568551

Maybe we're better off without the Canadians.

https://globalnews.ca/news/10462877/loblaw-boycott-impact-groceries/

RoTelly

If they had not been bought by Tesco, SuperValu would never have been sold to that American conglomerate.

Shop local.

AndrewJRenko

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123634780#Comment_123634780

The American conglomerate that is Musgraves?

L1011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123635486#Comment_123635486

https://www.irishtimes.com/business/2025/07/12/who-owns-supervalu-dont-ask-sinn-fein/

RoTelly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123635486#Comment_123635486

The Musgraves of Ohio, tycoons, made their millions in the ohio gold trade in the 1840s, then on to the railroads and across the boarder to Mexico where they bought Valuo supermarket chain the first Mexican supermarket, then it was over to Ireland Yeeeee Hawwwww !

Marcusm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120612743#Comment_120612743

Presumably ABF didn’t want to go in there as they already had Quinnsworth and Penneys at Rathfarnham. I wonder is Nutgrove one of the few shopping centres which hasn’t substantially extended since opening or maybe Stillorgan falls into the same category.

Marcusm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121173989#Comment_121173989

Wasn’t the original Mr Dunne an employee of Roches in Cork?

Marcusm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122932436#Comment_122932436

I was there a year ago with a niece who’s going tomUCG. I thought it little changed from when we went down there from Connemara in the 1980s.

Hibernicis

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123635643#Comment_123635643

Correct. Ben Dunne Senior was a buyer for Roches Stores in Patrick ST. The he walked across the road and opened his first store in 1944.

More here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Dunne_%28businessman%2C_born_1908%29

RoTelly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123635643#Comment_123635643

No he learnt his trade in 1900 in a little known in Mexican town called Rio De Genero, in a small shop called Valuo at night he and Big Dan Musgrave would go to the local saloon and drink shots of tequila, he had the opportunity to take a management job in Tequila inc but said Valuo was where is heart lay, later he would have a dispute with Gringo Musgrave and set up a rival shop called Duno Storo … later his tequila drink habits would get him in trouble and he'd have head home to Ireland following an intervention from Bono who at the time was considered the saviour of Mexico…. U2 are still big in Mexico … however Duno Storo has since closed … Yeeee Haw!

Marcusm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122951035#Comment_122951035

The Roches Dublin head office was around the corner on Great Strand St. a miserable street then and not much better now.

Marcusm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122955891#Comment_122955891

and the other countries should stop buying our meat and dairy too……

RoTelly

I know this isn't really the place but anyone during the Dail debate on pricing did any TD call out SF on the information that they gave or did they wait until the newspapers told them.

Can you imagine if someone came on to boards and says it was owned by someone other than musgraves? The pile on. I often call the RTÉ News Channel, the old name of RTÉ NEWS NOW and I get like 5 posters asking me why I call it RTÉ NEWS NOW it changed name years ago, or if I call VMTV ONE TV3… the consternation. Does this just show how unknowledgeable all of our politicians are?

supereurope

How many supermarkets did Crazy Prices have before the Tesco takeover? I don't think I've ever seen a list anywhere. I found this May 1996 ad which gives an idea, but it's not complete as there's some missing from the list - Ballymun, Thurles and I think there was a Crazy Prices in Bray too. I believe there might have been two Crazy Prices in Dundalk at one point as well? One in the then-new Longwalk and the other in the old shopping centre.

Glaceon

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123650721#Comment_123650721

I remember my business teacher referring to Crazy Prices and pointed out that it was it was Quinnsworth’s brand for “less affluent areas”. Although I couldn’t help but sense a bit of snobbery in that comment at the time.

Hibernicis

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123650721#Comment_123650721

You are correct that there are some Crazy Prices not on the list, looks like approx 5 missing. The May 96 ad is for Wednesday night late opening and not all stores did. It lists 27 QW and 16 CP. The takeover announcement (March 97) mentions 57 QW and 21 CP(ROI). Additionally there was Bloomfields in Dun Laoghaire which was just about finished but didn't open until May '97 and which was branded differently.

Crazy Prices was in Florence Road in Bray. Later Smyths Toys and now Deals. I have a vague recollection that it may have been branded differently for a short period in the mid 90s while still under Quinsworth ownership - remember it being very red during the time KVI branding was all the rage. Originally I think it was a Power Supermarkets branch before being rebranded to Quinnsworth and then Crazy Prices.

cml387

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123651119#Comment_123651119

That would seem to be confirmed by the locations of the various stores in the ad above😀