NI shopping exodus 'swings and roundabouts'

They are under an obligation to seek tenders on an EU-wide basis.

And nobody is making anybody shop at home. We have freewill.
 
europhile said:
They are under an obligation to seek tenders on an EU-wide basis.

And nobody is making anybody shop at home. We have freewill.
Click to expand...


Understood that we have free will but in times of recession home Governments should be free to award contracts to home businesses. There isn't much point in supporting the business of another country if those around you are crumbling.

The EU is great when times are good, but fair is fair, we all have to protect our own.
 
So if everyone in the Republic shopped in the North who would fund the Councils who provide everyone with local services?

Remember it's only businesses who pay Council / Corporation Rates.
 
People deal with the reality of the cash in their pockets.

If the Republic becomes cheaper than the North the shoppers will stay at home and those North will come South. Only the Government has the power to help Irish businesses become competitive again. Irish businesses also have to keep their profit margins realistic. People aren't going to pay anymore than they can get away with. Economic reality also makes people very sensitive to prices and more especially to rip off prices.
 
The only problem with your analysis Paddy is that it's those who choose to shop at home that make it possible for the rest to shop abroad!
 
A vicious circle Kingdom ...... and now with the differences in VAT widening today the exodus will continue.
 
PaddyBloggit said:
A vicious circle Kingdom ...... and now with the differences in VAT widening today the exodus will continue.
Click to expand...

I would love if RTE or some journalist carried out a survey of those heading North to ascertain where they worked. It would make interesting reading! I would be particularly interested in the percentage of State and Semi State employees in the crowd.
 
I think retailers and the government should take a long hard look at how they do business it the republic. There is something seriously wrong with a system that makes it far cheaper to travel 100 + miles and wait in traffic for hours than to pop into town for the same items. If they do nothing the problem will only get worse. Also having the leader of our country put his hands in the air and say that he can do nothing doesn’t exactly inspire confidence. If I took that attitude in work I’d be sacked. Maybe if the government sat down and asked themselves ‘what can we do?’ and thrashed out solutions to stem the flow I would be more inclined to listen.
 
Well, among the things that might be done is to reduce the wages of those who work in retail and related activities. That would work only if we reduced the minimum wage for everybody else as well, and we forced all pay down.

Do you think that is a runner?
 
It may have to be, there are many sectors here that had to take a pay cut. But I’m more interested in seeing what the profit margins are on the large chain stores that operate here. I have a feeling if they are ever published the reaction will be much the same as when price gouging by solicitors and insurance companies was revealed a few years back.

I would never expect Irish stores to be able to match the UK chains. But up to a 40% difference is pulling the proverbial. Irish stores don’t need to undercut the stores in the north they just need to make it unattractive to shop there. For example if the difference was 15% or under I would be unwilling to make the journey.

Just off the top of my head consider the following.

Dublin
High charges to park ones car
Heavily congested streets
Silly prices charged for goods and services
On street parking restricted to 3 hours

North
May have all of these issues save for one – up to a 40% saving.

When it all comes down to it thousands have been taken out of my pocket this year and next and just like the government my family will have to make up the shortfall somehow. In my case that involves spending money over the border that may otherwise been spent locally and unless something changes that’s the way it will continue.
 
theoneill said:

Just off the top of my head consider the following.

Dublin
High charges to park ones car
Heavily congested streets
Silly prices charged for goods and services
On street parking restricted to 3 hours

North
May have all of these issues save for one – up to a 40% saving.
Click to expand...

Price of parking in Belfast Intl Airport (long-term car park) for 50 hours (3pm Friday 'til 5pm Sunday) recently - £33 Sterling.

Also, fwiw, in my experience most Northern towns suffer from worse traffic congestion than their counterpart towns in the South. Most have so-called bypasses than go through the town rather than outside it.

For example, Enniskillen, Omagh, Strabane, Armagh and Portadown all have "bypasses" similar to the disastrous one in Navan that goes through the town centre. They don't seem to have the sort of decent bypasses that the likes of Naas, Athlone or Mullingar enjoy.
 
All true but if I want to get my christmas shopping I'll still save money. That's what it boiles down to.
 
This situation has been happening for years especially in Europe once the borders opened up.

The Irish shopped en-mass in New York when the money was there
The UK has booze cruises to France
The Danish flood into Germany to shop and buy fuel
The Germans shop in Poland
The Dutch shop in Germany
The Germans buy fuel in Holland
The Belgium's shop in France
Gibraltar residents now shop in Spain

This phenomenon of going up North will continue and unless retailers adapt then it will be their death.

I think its time to accept that it will happen and move on with the times. Now is the time for business to innovate by re-working business models and looking to increase efficiencies.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top