Online supplier strips away the costs to sell top condoms at lower prices

IT’S a market where breakthroughs are usually unwelcome, but news of a Cork-based online business that offers the world’s top condom brands at rock-bottom prices won’t be covered up for long.

Youghal woman Andrea Leahy's trips abroad convinced her that Irish people were paying too much for condoms. So she quit her job with an electronics company to set up SmartPaddy.ie and do for Irish condom buyers what Ryanair did for flights and Amazon did for books.

"I spent a lot of time travelling, particularly in Germany, and everything looked cheaper than in Ireland," says Ms Leahy. "Then I saw the price of condoms and realised that we're really being ripped off here."

So it would seem. Ms Leahy quotes prices of up to €12 for a box of 12 charged in high street pharmacies, but those who are too shy to deal over the counter have to cough up as much as €5 for a box of three for the privilege of buying from a vending machine, or €1.67 each. But SmartPaddy customers can get away with prices as low as 30c per unit 70% cheaper than in shops and over 90% less than vending machines.

Ms Leahy says her competitors' margins are too high and consumers are voting with their feet. "There's been massive demand," she says. She ships thousands of condoms every week to every corner of Ireland, while more than 1,000 people visit the website every day.

Ms Leahy says buying online is discreet and particularly suits women even though they only account for 25% of sales who are often unhappy to buy condoms in person. She is careful to dispatch sales in unmarked packaging and ensures that entries on credit card bills feature just the name of SmartPaddy's holding company.

Buying in bulk offers the best savings, with boxes of 100 on offer for around €30. Buyers who want to do things in style can take advantage of 144 Mates condoms for €45. But SmartPaddy also has room for customers who are less confident about their ability to race through bulk packs before the dreaded expiry date. Boxes of 10 are also available, although the savings on high-street prices are smaller.

Ms Leahy warns of the need to check expiry dates when buying. Some sites offer cheap condoms because they have stocks that are nearing the end of their useful lives. SmartPaddy, however, lists the expiry date of all its products.

And that product range will get bigger. Ms Leahy is in talks to add other brands Durex, Trojan and Condomi are among the current brands but will only do business with suppliers on the right terms. She also sees scope for selling a small number of related sexual health products, such as pregnancy test kits. In an ideal world, she would welcome a reduction in the VAT rate on condoms, which currently gives the government 21c in every euro and pushes up prices. Other countries have seen merit in applying no VAT on condoms to encourage usage and safer sex.

But in the meantime, SmartPaddy's arrival in the market has ensured that the gloves are off.