Retailers 'should explain' cross-border price differences

Retail bosses have a duty to explain massive price differences for goods sold on either side of the border, the Government warned today.

At a grocers’ conference in Dublin, Enterprise Minister Mary Coughlan claimed the higher cost of doing business in the Republic failed to account for the huge price gap.

An all-party delegation today visited the Dundalk area to see first hand the effects of the cross-border exodus, which has already forced retail giant Superquinn to close in the town.

Ms Coughlan said: “While clearly the cost environment in the south is having some impact on retail prices, it does not explain the reality of the magnitude of the north-south price differentials that continue to exist.”

“It is my strong view that retailers have a duty to their customers, and to the economies in which they operate, to explain why there are such price differentials.”

The euro’s recent record highs against sterling have added to the influx of recession-weary shoppers looking for savings to their weekly grocery bills, causing difficulties for border supermarkets in the Republic.

Superquinn was the first major casualty, announcing last week it was to axe some 400 jobs.

The retail giant said its Dundalk store had been the hardest hit and was closing down with 70 workers being laid off.

At the annual Checkout conference in Dublin’s Four Seasons Hotel, Ms Coughlan welcomed moves by some retailers to narrow the gap by dropping prices to match the exchange rate.

But she claimed many shops were failing to pass on savings.

“I now call on all those in the retail sector to play their part in ensuring that that as a sector it can continue to be a vibrant part of the national economy, particularly as a significant employer, while also providing value to the Irish consumer”, Ms Coughlan said.

TDs and Senators from the Oireachtas Enterprise Committee today visited Dundalk to see first-hand the effects of cross-border shopping.

Yesterday, the cross-party delegation went to Ballyclare, Banbridge and Belfast, talking to planning experts and retail representatives to gauge the effects of the trend there.

A survey by the National Consumer Agency late last year revealed consumers could shave almost a third of their weekly grocery bill by heading north.

Finance Minister Brian Lenihan sparked controversy in December after he suggested consumers from the Republic who buy their goods in the North were unpatriotic.