Top stories in the papers this week 16 – 23 April 2012

Tesco Ireland posts 2.4% sales drop; M&S blames VAT hike for sales slump; Food off the menu at Dunnes in Spain

Apr 23 2012

1. Tesco Ireland posts 2.4% sales drop as market declines further

Tesco recorded a 2.4% drop in sales across its Irish outlets in the 12 months to the end of February. The Irish Times reports that Tesco Ireland, which contributes €2.7 billion to the Irish economy annually, said the drop in sales reflected lower prices and “continued market decline”. Overall, the company reported growth of 2.8% last year, reflecting the building of 11 new stores as well as the upgrading of 47 existing outlets.

2. M&S blames VAT hike for sales slump

Marks & Spencer boss Marc Bolland has told investors that the recent VAT hike has hit sales in its Irish operations "hard," with like-for-like sales dropping 0.7% in the three months to March. According to The Irish Independent, M&S finance chief Alan Stewart said the VAT regime change had caused consumers' sentiments to “take a turn for the worse”. M&S revealed its Irish operations account for "about a third" of its entire international business.

3. Food off the menu at Dunnes in Spain

Dunnes Stores is to stop selling food at its outlets in Spain, the Irish Independent reports. Dunnes has had a presence in Spain for more than 30 years, opening its first store there, in Malaga, in 1980. It now has five outlets in the country, which are run by Leo Keohane, a brother of Tesco Ireland boss Tony. Dunnes also has six stores in England, and five in Scotland.

4. Striking Musgrave staff reject calls to return to work

Striking staff at Musgrave’s chill warehouse in Cork rejected company calls to return to work last week and vowed to continue their dispute indefinitely. The Irish Examiner reports up to 70 Siptu members picketed the firm’s Tramore Road offices on Wednesday in a row over the implementation of a Labour Court recommendation. However the company activated a contingency plan to ensure deliveries continued from the chill warehouse.

5. Lamb springs back on to the menu

There has been a major increase in the popularity of lamb this year, with household purchases up by almost 16% for the first 12 weeks of the year when compared with the same period last year. The Irish Times reports that James Murphy, IFA national sheep chairman, attributed some of the growth to the strong promotional activity of lamb by the major Irish retailers, and a vigorous campaign by Bord Bia.