Top stories in the papers this week 7 – 13 February 2012
Iceland 'charging Irish shoppers more'; Big stores furious as NI Assembly passes levy; Tesco consolidates dominant position in Irish market
Print13 February 2012
1. Frozen food chain ‘charging Irish shoppers more’
The IFA has conducted research that allegedly shows Iceland charges Irish consumers 18% more on average than UK shoppers after sterling prices are converted to euro. The Irish Times reports the organisation has called on the NCA and on Minister for Jobs Richard Bruton to investigate its claims. The farmers group also said the supermarket had failed to properly engage with Irish producers, but the chain denied this allegation.
2. Big stores furious as Assembly passes levy
A tax on large stores has been passed by the north’s Assembly and will come into force in April. The Belfast Telegraph reports that the Northern Ireland Retail Consortium (NIRC) which speaks on behalf of giants like Tesco, Ikea and Asda, said the levy is "flawed" and will damage future economic prosperity. However independent traders have welcomed the rate relief scheme for small retailers.
3. Tesco consolidates dominant position as growth in grocery market slows
Tesco is consolidating its dominant position in a slow-growing Irish grocery sector, capturing a record 28.2% market share in the 12 weeks ending 22 January. Kantar Worldpanel figures quoted in The Irish Examiner also show Dunnes and SuperValu both continue to perform ahead of the market, while Aldi continues to post the highest growth rate among all retailers with sales growth of 26.2%.
4. Eason plans 150 job cuts to achieve €5m saving
Irish-owned book and stationery retailer Eason has reached agreement with staff on a cost reduction programme that will involve about 150 voluntary redundancies. The Irish Times reports the group seeks to achieve savings of €5 million a year. Eason has also decided to close its shop at Talbot Street in north inner city Dublin. The store will cease trading on 12 March and its 12 staff will be offered redeployment.
5. Tesco pulls plug on carbon scheme
Tesco is pulling out of its carbon footprint initiative due to the complexity of the work involved. The Irish Independent reports the move would be unexpected for the Carbon Trust, which had helped Tesco develop a formula to calculate carbon footprint. Yet in the four years since Tesco announced that it was going to put a carbon count label on all products, it had only managed to get less than 0.01% certified.
Also:
The High Street has failed… we should find better ways to use empty stores, says Sainsbury’s boss (Daily Mail, UK)
Gleeson Street supermarket in Athlone gets go ahead (Westmeath Independent)
Zumo smoothie bars still have juicy prospects in the French market (Irish Times)
Advertising market will remain flat this year (Irish Times)
Tullamore retailer was offered ‘cheap fake’ cigarettes for sale (Tullamore Tribune)
Coca-Cola Q4 profit tops analysts’ estimates amid Asia sales boost (Irish Examiner)
Lloyds takes control of Heuston complex (Irish Times)
Proper deterrent missing in black market tobacco battle (Irish Times)
Bord Bia event attracts 520 buyers (Irish Times)
The real reason why drink crisis will persist (Irish Times)
Is the UK high street facing an inevitable ‘death spiral’? (Guardian)
Tesco is tops again – this time it’s in daft deals (Guardian)
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