Retailers not passing on benefits of strong euro

Retailers’ failures to pass on the benefits of the strong euro against sterling to the consumer are being blamed on exchange rates at the time the goods were purchased by the retailer; the cost of doing business between the jurisdictions; and on tax rates.

Enterprise Minister Mary Mitchell O’Connor says she was given these reasons for the differential between prices quoted in the two currencies when she attended the Retail Consultation Forum earlier this week.

In a response to a parliamentary question from Social Democrats TD Catherine Murphy, she said she told the forum it is her view that retailers should explain to their customers and to the economies in which they operate why there are such price differentials between the two currency areas.