Discount Retailers Market Share Growing

[chippie]

Per this mornings tribune, anyone where were to see the TNS mrbi survey, have tried to find it online but to no avail.

Discount supermarkets eat into giants' market share
Neil Callanan

Discount retailers have increased their share of Ireland's multi-billion euro grocery market by 4.5% in the past year as consumers vote with their feet on lower prices, figures indicate.

Retail sources told the Sunday Tribune that the latest market research by TNS mrbi shows that Lidl and Aldi now have 7.1% of the overall market compared to 6.8% at the same time last year, meaning Irish customers are now spending more than €568m a year in the discount stores based on TNS mrbi's estimate that the grocery market in Ireland is worth more than €8.5bn annually.

Irish shoppers may be spending even more in the discounters because some industry estimates value the grocery market at closer to €15bn and the Competition Authority estimates it at €11.6bn. Lower prices and the downturn in the economy have pushed many shoppers to begin buying at least some of their groceries in the discount retailers.

Tesco, which recently launched 1,000 Cash Saver products aimed at budget conscious consumers, is also continuing to grow its market share and now has 26.5% of the market, compared with 26.2% of the market this time last year.

Last week Tesco's Irish division reported sales growth of 9.8% for the 2007-2008 financial year, with sales reaching €2.995bn.

It will open 15 stores in Ireland this year, creating 1,200 jobs.

Despite an aggressive store opening programme, Dunnes Stores has seen its market share increase only slightly from 23.9% to 24%.

Some of its new stores are known to be performing below expectations while the company has also signaled that it will end 24-hour shopping at its Jetland shopping centre in Limerick.

It too is planning to drop prices on a number of standard household items in order to compete better with the likes of Lidl and Aldi.

Superquinn has been worst affected by the move to the discount retailers with its market share falling from 7.8% to 7.5%. Last week the retailer's executive chairman, Simon Burke, said "chasing cheap prices" without looking at quality or where they were sourced from was "a shallow and short-sighted basis for making choices about what to buy". He also criticised the National Consumer Association's price surveys saying they were "imbalanced and misguided" and said the Government should encourage consumers to buy Irish.

Superquinn has been renovating existing stores and investing in new ones as it looks to expand the number of outlets it operates, particularly in the more affluent areas of Dublin.

SuperValu has also lost market share, but only slightly, with its share of the market now standing at 20.3% compared to 20.4% last year.

The market is also waiting to see if Asda follow up on tentative interest in opening in the Republic of Ireland.

It has held preliminary talks on the possibility of opening at two sites in the east of the country.

August 3, 2008

[Universal_001]

Lidil and Aldi are not actually that cheap, I think it's just the perception that they are that pulls people in.

[MontgomeryClift]

For most items they really are that cheap.

160 tea bags from Lidl or Aldi cost about 2.50. A box of Barry's from Superquinn costs almost 6.00. They brand is different, but the blend seems to be about the same.

1 punnet of blueberries from Holland is 3.50 to 5.00 in Superquinn, depending on their humour. Lild charges 2.00 for the same size punnet, also from Holland.

Maple Syrpup from Canada - about 3.00 in Aldi. About 5.50 in Superquinn.

4 Irish Lamp Chops - about 4.50 in Lidl. About 6.50 in Superquinn. If anything, Lidl's are nicer.

Tinned garden peas in Lidl or Aldi are about 20c each. And they don't have the added green dye that the 'popular' brands do.

Certain Organic items in Lidl are dear, though. You have to be aware of what you're buying.

[Universal_001]

Its mainly the meat (Irish meat) that is the same price I've found, have never noticed canned goods that cheap, will check that out.

I'm thinking all shops should have to show the individual mark up or profit margin for every product on the SEL beside the price.

[MontgomeryClift]

Then there's this:
http://www.independent.ie/business/pers ... 43708.html

Lidl blames price gap with Germany on our higher taxes

SUPERMARKET giant Lidl last night defended huge price variations between its Irish and German stores, blaming higher government taxes here for the difference.

An independent survey showed Irish customers paid up to €11 more for 700ml bottles of gin and whiskey, and a basket of 18 assorted items cost €37.51 more in an Irish store than in its German equivalent.

In Ireland, the 18 products -- including toilet paper, bread, pasta, juice, chocolate, fish cheese and spices -- came to €73.19, but in Germany they came to only €35.68.

The most marked difference was in the price of alcohol.

A 750ml Margot whiskey, a 750ml dry gin and three different bottles of wine came to €19.35 in Germany, but in Ireland they cost 250pc more, at €47.71.

A spokesperson for the German supermarket giant said: "There is nothing we can do, it is the excise duty." He said 40pc tax was paid on every 700ml bottle of gin or whisky, before VAT was added. While on a 750ml bottle of wine, tax was paid at 12pc volume.

"If you take these costs away you would see there is not that much difference between them," he added.

The spokesman claimed other factors also came into the equation such as insurance, property and land costs, wages and transport.

"When specific products are compared on a country-to-country basis, certain parameters have to be taken into consideration," he said.

"As Ireland has a relatively low level of direct taxation through income tax, indirect taxes like VAT and excise duty are very high. This affects retail prices directly and hampers, for instance, price comparisons on alcoholic products between different countries," he added.

Reaffirmed

VAT in Ireland is set at 21pc, while in Germany it is 19pc, but there is a special, reduced, VAT rate of 7pc on all food and agriculture produce.

Is VAT on food in Ireland not zero?

[Bobert]

Is anyone even surprised by this though?

[CookieMonster]

Certain Organic items in Lidl are dear, though. You have to be aware of what you're buying.

Indeed, but their Organic Torque wrench and 7 piece garden patio set was very reasonable.

[Bobert]

Certain Organic items in Lidl are dear, though. You have to be aware of what you're buying.

Indeed, but their Organic Torque wrench and 7 piece garden patio set was very reasonable.

Why would anyone need a patio set to seat six? Who has six friends? I know you don't, I don't. Is it for YPD meetings?

[CookieMonster]

Certain Organic items in Lidl are dear, though. You have to be aware of what you're buying.

Indeed, but their Organic Torque wrench and 7 piece garden patio set was very reasonable.

Why would anyone need a patio set to seat six? Who has six friends? I know you don't, I don't. Is it for YPD meetings?

Why would I be having YPD meetings in my back garden? And what use would a torque wrench... oh!

[Universal_001]

the chicken breasts are expensive, but hey, theres a sale on cycling vests right now...thats helpful...right?