Top stories in the papers this week 17 – 23 July 2010

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Supervalu and Dunnes on track to go online; Grocery market slumps by €500m, research shows; Gangs net €3m a week from illegal cigarette trade

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22 July 2010

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1. Supermarket price war looms as two more stores go online

SuperValu and Dunnes Stores are both planning to launch an online shopping presence with website development believed to be well under way at both companies. The Irish Examiner reports SuperValu has confirmed its plan to launch a purchasing website early in the new year. At present, Dunnes Stores has refused to confirm the move but according to industry sources their site "is very much a work in progress".

2. Grocery market slumps by €500m, research shows

The Irish grocery market value fell by €500m or 5.7% to just under €8.78bn during the year ended 13 June. However, new Kantar Worldpanel statistics published in The Sunday Tribune show the decline in sales value is slowing following Tesco’s price cuts. Tesco, along with the German discounters, has been the big winner in the supermarket price wars, increasing its market share by 0.9% in the last year to 26.7%.

3. Gangs net €3m a week from illegal cigarette trade, claims tobacco company

Criminal gangs here are making around €3 million every week from the illegal cigarette trade, while retailers missed out on over €500m in turnover from lost tobacco sales in 2009. Tobacco company PJ Carroll revealed these statistics in the Irish Examiner and announced its parent company, British American Tobacco, was providing $200m (€134m) in funding to the European Commission over the next 20 years to combat the illicit trade.

4. Shoppers search for value south of border

Footfall at shopping centres in the Republic fell by by 1.7% in the second quarter of 2010 compared to the same period last year, figures published in the Irish Examiner reveal.  However, the research conducted by services group Experian also shows that footfall in the North fell by 6.3% in the same period; suggesting that customers “who had been visiting Northern Ireland to take advantage of the weaker pound and lower VAT rate, are now looking for better value for money closer to home," according to head of sales and marketing for Experian, Paul Slevin

5. Job opportunities on rise, say recruitment agencies

A survey of the Irish retail sector conducted by recruitment firm Teamworx, has revealed that two-thirds of respondents had hired new staff over the past three months and more than 70% expected to do so over the next three months. The firm’s David Powell told the Irish Independent that this positive employment outlook is based on a number of existing stores having expansion plans, while a number of new outlets are also planned for the second half of the year.

Also:


Tesco’s fans and foes
line up to give their say (Irish Times)

Starbucks’s sales perk up as patrons resume luxuries (Irish Independent)

Retailer Shaws faces split as one owner seeks to sell stake (Irish Times)

Freeze our minimum wage for years, say employers (Irish Independent)

Government must tackle cut-price alcohol sales (Irish Times)

Xtravision to cut workers’ pay (Irish Independent)

 

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