IRELAND: Retailers compete on own brands

By: just-food.com | 11 September 2008

Competition in the Irish grocery sector is fiercest in the own brand area of the market, new research has revealed.

According to the latest grocery price survey from the National Consumer Agency, competition between retailers is concentrated on their own brand ranges.

The survey looked at various Irish retailers, including Dunnes Stores, Superquinn, Tesco, Supervalu, Spar, Centra, Eurospar, Aldi and Lidl. The NCA found that the price gap in own label products between the supermarkets and discounters had narrowed.

Comparing Aldi, Lidl, Tesco and Dunnes Stores, there was a price differential of 59.3% between the cheapest and dearest outlets on a basket of 19 items in December 2007. This had dropped to 33.9% in August on a basket of 34 items.

"We believe that this is the result of the multiples now directly competing with Aldi and Lidl on own brand goods due to increased publicity around lower prices offered by the discounters," NCA chief executive Ann Fitzgerald said.

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