A cut in the number of Irish home brands will hardly boost jobs in the Republic. Will it stem the flood of shoppers north? Will a 20% cut in Tesco Ireland prices produce a net gain to the Irish economy or to Tesco? Are we about to see the end of the trek north, as described by the Tele?
On Saturday three of the Dublin to Belfast morning trains were sold out, many seats taken by shoppers who can pre-book online. There was also a 30-minute mid-morning delay into Newry with a large number of Dublin-registered cars in the traffic tailback.
The move feels like a shrewd marketing strategy for the retail giant, leaving them with win:win whatever happens.
Adds Upbeat note from From NI Crunchtalk, the Insititute of Directors’ website:
Invest NI have been working with retailers (Asda, Waitrose, Tesco, M&S), wholesalers (Makro, Costco) and foodservice distributors (most notably Brakes, 3663 and the NISA and Sterling groups) to secure new and additional listings for local companies. New customers have been delighted with products, packaging and service levels.
Former BBC journalist and manager in Belfast, Manchester and London, Editor Spolight; Political Editor BBC NI; Current Affairs Commissioning editor BBC Radio 4; Editor Political and Parliamentary Programmes, BBC Westminster; former London Editor Belfast Telegraph. Hon Senior Research Fellow, The Constitution Unit, Univ Coll. London