People power forces stores to lower prices

PEOPLE power is the only thing that will force big businesses to lower their prices, according to one Meath woman who has already succeeded in getting cheaper grocery prices for her hometown.

Mags McGivern said Trim has already benefited from her successful lobbying of the local authority to remove restrictions on new commercial developments in the town through a greater choice of shops, increased employment and more importantly, cheaper prices.

Mags said competition among supermarkets with the arrival of German discounter, Lidl, in Trim had resulted in the price of many grocery items coming down in the existing outlets.

In one long-established supermarket, a litre of bottled water cost €0.99 before Lidl opened last December, while a two-litre bottle of the same brand now costs only €0.35, according to Mags. The same store also started a new section for cheaper brands in response to Lidl’s arrival.

Along with friends, Brigid Gaynor and Kathleen Ward, Mags launched a petition last year to allow Lidl build a supermarket in the town after Trim Town Council had rejected the company’s application for planning permission on a site on the outskirts of the town.

Because of the lack of competition, many residents of Trim were travelling to neighbouring towns for their weekly shopping. Mags and her friends said they travelled to Lidl supermarkets in Blanchardstown and Mullingar to avail of cheaper grocery prices. It was when they saw one of the local councillors, who had voted against a Trim branch of Lidl, doing his shopping in the Blanchardstown outlet of the discount store that they decided to act.

“Lidl had been refused planning permission for a new shopping centre by Trim Town Council. We could not understand the decision as we felt the town was being bypassed for all development,” said Mags, who appeared earlier this week on RTÉ’s new consumer programme, Rip-Off Republic which is hosted by financial guru, Eddie Hobbs.

The group eventually collected more than 5,000 signatures from a town with a population of 7,500, calling for the council to change its retail strategy for the town.

Although Lidl subsequently won its appeal to An Bord Pleanála, Mags’s campaign is credited with giving local people a voice in the development of their area.

Despite earlier fears about the arrival of Lidl, Mags maintains that existing supermarkets, which include a Super Valu and Centra, have also benefited from the fact more people now do their shopping in Trim.

“There was great support for the campaign. I think we only got two refusals from people,” said Mags.

She urged shoppers in other parts of Ireland to consider similar action in order to demand lower prices from powerful supermarket groups.

“What we achieved shows what can be done with people power,” stressed Mags.