Cheaper goods on way as top retailers bow to public anger
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IRISH shoppers are paying dramatically more than their British counterparts for the same goods -- despite the huge currency change which has pushed the euro to virtual parity with sterling.
But there were clear indications last night that some top shops are about to slash prices.
An Irish Independent investigation shows massive discrepancies between the price paid by UK shoppers and Irish shoppers for exactly the same items.
With thousands flocking North for bargains, some main street shops here are planning to dramatically reduce prices.
Last night, one of the most influential UK fashion chains operating here said it would cut its prices in the coming weeks to reflect sterling's parity with the euro.
Mosaic, the firm that owns women's favourites Coast, Oasis, Warehouse, Principles and Karen Millen will become the first British retailer to bow to growing fury over huge sterling/euro price differences.
And the company's Irish chief said last night if other mainly UK retailers fail to follow suit, they face being abandoned and wiped out by angry Irish shoppers.
Ian Galvin, chief executive of Mosaic, said: "Now that it's coming close to parity we will be re-pricing across all labels" .
He added: "As an Irish chairman of the group, I'm constantly on the phone to the UK saying 'you've got to watch this', he said. "We just have to be more flexible on pricing.
"Economically and legally you have to change the prices. There shouldn't be a big gap and if retailers don't, they'll shoot themselves in the foot." Yesterday afternoon, the euro inched ever nearer to parity with the pound, hitting a new record high of 98.03p sterling, with some experts predicting full parity by next week.
Goods with dual price labels were found to have sterling prices of £80, while the euro price was €120, at a time when €1 is worth almost £1.
Other examples include: lA dress on sale in Karen Millen for €180 in Dublin but costing just £120 in the UK -- a €60 hike for an Irish shopper lA women's black, fitted jacket on sale in Marks and Spencer in Dublin for €106. The same item is just £69.50 in the UK and Northern Ireland -- a €36.50 difference l A men's Working Class Hero jacket on sale in River Island for €160, but on sale in the UK for €50 less, or £110.
Consumer Association chief executive Dermott Jewell accused retailers of earning super-normal profits because of their failure to cut prices to reflect the weaker sterling prices for imports.
"Prices should be slashed on a sustained basis. What we are seeing is profiteering and super profits being earned," Mr Jewell said.
He accused retailers of using sales as a guise for their failure to cut prices to reflect the lower import costs of goods in the shops. Last night, the Irish head of Mosaic said UK-based retailers will have to lower their prices accordingly or face the wrath of consumers, who will take their business elsewhere.
Ian Galvin, said the company had slashed prices across the board by 10pc before Christmas to reflect the closing gap between the two currencies. He said in some cases price tags reflected the prices on old stock bought about six months ago, he said.
But his chain will be pricing its new spring lines in accordance with the currency fluctuations, he said.
"Whether it will be at parity we don't know but we are regulating our pricing," he said.
While there are differences in VAT rates and other costs that may reflect higher Irish prices on the same goods, Irish consumers are no longer willing or able to pay above the odds, he said.
Retailers
Other retailers -- many of whom are still stubbornly refusing to adjust their prices -- should also follow suit or they will be abandoned by cost-conscious consumers, he warned.
Last night Retail Ireland's Torlach Denihan rejected the claims that its members were engaged in price gauging and were earning massive profits from the continuing weakness of sterling.
He said labels with dual prices reflected the fact that prices had been set up to a year ago before sterling began to fall so dramatically.
Mr Denihan said most large retail stores had sales with between 50pc and 70pc off at the moment.
- Allison Bray, Charlie Weston and Denise Clarke
