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NEWSGRID

The top news stories in FMCG and retail from across Ireland

Retailers hit by Covidrelated staff shortages

Covid-related staff shortages have led to a quarter of retail staff being forced to close for a period of time in recent weeks, according to a survey by Retail Excellence. As a result of the highly transmissible nature of the Omicron variant, Duncan Graham, MD of Retail Excellence, said many of its members were operating with a “skeleton staff” due to Covid-related issues. For more on this issue, turn to page 8.

Regulator advises removal of Genrui antigen tests from shelves

The State’s medical devices regulator has said one of the most commonly used Covid19 rapid antigen tests, Genrui should be removed from the shelves, after over 500 users complained about false positive results. The Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA) said retailers were removing the product from sale on a voluntary basis pending further investigation.

CMO calls for “robust” application of Covid protection measures in shops

Chief medical officer Tony Holohan has issued the following message to retailers about the need to robustly apply Covid health and safety measures: “Given the current epidemiological situation and the expected impact of the Omicron variant, it is absolutely critical that those sectors that remain open are robustly applying the full range of protective measures to ensure safe environments for staff and customers,” he said. CMO Tony Holohan

Dunnes takes number one spot in latest Kantar stats

Irish grocery sales were worth €3.1 billion during the 12 weeks to 26 December 2021, according to the latest figures from Kantar. Dunnes retained the number one spot as Ireland’s largest retailer, securing 23.2% of the market. SuperValu and Tesco were both close behind, with shares of 22.2% each, while Lidl and Aldi accounted for 11.7% and 11.6% respectively.

Dunnes Stores asks appeals board to overturn Monkstown store refusal

Dunnes Stores has lodged an appeal with An Bord Pleanála against Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council’s refusal of planning permission to redevelop The Outer Spaces, a Diarmuid Gavin-led gardening shop and cafe it opened last year at 14/15 Monkstown Cresent, south Dublin. It is seeking planning for a convenience store of 400sq m. The council initially refused planning permission after 20 local residents objected and the council said it would constitute overdevelopment. Dunnes Stores argued that the outlet will not have an adverse impact on existing properties in the local area. A decision is due on the appeal in May.

Freshly Chopped expands to six new countries

Healthy fast food retailer Freshly Chopped recently signed a new partnership deal with the Dutch company FFF International Holding B.V. (Fresh Food Fast Company) that will see the Freshly Chopped brand open 120 new outlets in the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Germany, Denmark and Sweden over the next five years. For further details, turn to page 33.

Brian Lee, founder and CEO of Freshly Chopped with Hans Wingender, MD of Fresh Food Fast Company in Leiden, Netherlands

Christmas 2021: Grocery sales finish ahead of previous year

Christmas 2021 saw Irish people spend €732 on groceries every second in the four weeks to 26 December according to new research from NielsenIQ. Total sales surpassed €1.7 billion, representing a growth of +0.3% versus Christmas 2020. In comparison to a pandemic free Christmas in 2019, total value sales were up +12% this year. Overall, Irish shoppers spent €28 million more during Christmas week this year versus in 2020.

Sponsorship set for 8% growth in 2022, says Onside

The Irish sponsorship industry grew by 6% to reach €180m in 2021, and while the sector’s size has yet to return to pre-pandemic levels, the 16th annual Onside Irish Sponsorship Industry Survey estimates there will be further growth of 8% in 2022 to €195m. According to Onside’s survey results, 54% of sponsors will be increasing their sponsorship investment levels in 2022, up from 41% in 2021.

Tributes as coffee business legend Patrick Bewley dies aged 77

Patrick Bewley

Tributes have been paid to the former managing director of Bewley’s, who has died aged 77. Patrick Bewley, who passed away after a long illness, was involved in the Dublin institution for 53 years. He imported the first Fairtrade Certified coffee to Ireland in 1996. “Paddy Bewley made an immense contribution, not just to the success of Bewley’s over the past 35 years, but to improving the lives of others in need,” said Paddy Campbell, whose family acquired the Bewley’s business in 1986, forming the Campbell Bewley Group. Patrick Bewley’s great-grandfather, Joshua Bewley, founded the company in 1840. ■

All-Ireland approach needed for MUP

T h i s m o n t h t h e g o v e r n m e n t i n t r o d u c e d m i n i m u m u n i t p r i c i n g ( M U P ) o f a l c o h o l a n d i t h a s d i v i d e d o p i n i o n o n w h e t h e r t h i s w i l l h a v e t h e d e s i r e d e f f e c t o f r e d u c i n g a l c o h o l c o n s u m p t i o n o r i f i t w i l l j u s t f o r c e p e o p l e a c r o s s t h e b o r d e r t o s h o p w h i l e w e w a i t f o r N o r t h e r n I r e l a n d t o e n a c t s i m i l a r l e g i s l a t i o n t o l e v e l t h e p l a y i n g f i e l d . F i o n n u a l a C a r o l a n r e p o r t s

New measures to tackle alcohol consumption came into effect on 4 January this year. For the past decade the government has been talking about introducing minimum unit pricing for alcohol in an attempt to reduce the harm caused by excessive alcohol consumption in society.

Now that this legislation has finally been passed here without the promised alignment with Northern Ireland, it has divided opinion as to whether it will have the desired effect or just drive people over the border and put further financial strain on low income families in the south.

The new rules will affect off-licences, shops and supermarkets who will benefit by way of increased pricing but may also lose out on sales because people now deem it too expensive to buy and those close to Northern Ireland will be sure to buy low-cost alcohol in the north. The on-trade, restaurants and bars will be unaffected as their minimum prices already exceed the threshold.

Alcohol Action’s Eunan McKinney thinks it’s about drinking a little less and a little less often. “The objective of the act is to reduce consumption across the whole country by 20% over seven years,” he says. “There will be a small windfall for retailers now but it’s a long game. It is a bit like selling cigarettes, it’s gone from 40% of the population smoking to 16%.”

Alcohol consumption is already declining in Ireland and last year it reduced by 6.6% to its lowest level in 30 years although this fall was accelerated by Covid-19 and the closure of the hospitality sector. However it is still seen as a major problem with Ireland experiencing at least three alcohol-related deaths a day.

“The objective of the Public Health Alcohol Act is to reduce consumption across the whole country by 20% over seven years,” says Alcohol Action’s Eunan McKinney CEO of the Convenience Stores and Newsagents Association, Vincent Jennings says the minimum unit pricing policy needs to be implemented in both the north and south of Ireland

The new measures

The new measures mean that a standard bottle of wine cannot be sold for less than €7.40 and a can of beer for less than €1.70. Spirits with up to 40% alcohol content cannot be sold for less than €20.70 and a 700ml bottle of whiskey for less than €22. The wellknown brands are unaffected by this move as their prices were already higher than the new minimum pricing.

Research in 2016 by the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) carried out on over 3,000 adults found that the cheapest alcohol products are favoured by the heaviest drinkers, regardless of their income levels and 14% of the population will feel the effect of MUP.

As expected, not everyone is pleased with the measures and some are questioning who this is really benefiting. President of the Students’ Union at NUI Galway Róisín Nic Lochlainn said the new law was being introduced at the worst time during a pandemic, with pubs being closed at 8pm.

“It isn’t going to stop people buying alcohol. It just means that if a student or working class family is in the supermarket, the drink will still be bought but at the expense of another essential item in the basket,” she said.

International best practice

Here in Ireland the effect of alcohol on our society is costing in the region of €3.2 billion a year. Public health experts say the new measures are shown to be working internationally, with a reduction in the number

of admissions to emergency departments and a drop in the number of alcohol fuelled assaults. Similar measures to those taken here have been proven to work in places like Scotland, Wales and Canada, showing a significant reduction in alcohol retail sales and consumption.

After the introduction of MUP in Scotland, alcohol consumption decreased by 7.6%, Scotland’s alcohol sales fell to their lowest levels since records began and consumption levels were at 9.9 litres per capita which is the lowest level since 1994.

On the launch of the legislation, Health Minister Stephen Donnelly was confident that it will have a positive outcome: “Today Ireland joins a small number of countries in the world to introduce minimum pricing,” he said. “This measure is designed to reduce serious illness and death from alcohol consumption and to reduce the pressure on our health services from alcohol related conditions. It worked in Scotland and I look forward to it working here also.”

Northern Ireland

While we might achieve a reduction in consumption, the other issue at stake is the certainty that consumers will cross the border to shop. According to an Ibec economic report a unilateral MUP move would increase the existing price differential on alcohol between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland from 27% to 38%.

Additionally, it’s estimated that it would result in a €94m loss to the Irish Exchequer in increased sales across the border.

Long before this legislation came into being, retail lobby groups said that while it was supported it needed to happen in unison with Northern Ireland or else it would have detrimental effects on retailers in border regions. This unfortunately has not come to pass.

In July 2020, Northern Ireland’s Health Minister Robin Swann committed to a public consultation on the introduction of minimum pricing for alcohol. The findings are expected to be released in early 2022 but no official date has yet been given.

CEO of the Convenience Stores and Newsagents Association, Vincent Jennings, said it supports MUP, but not this way.

“When this came through... it was suggested, and very clearly, guarantees were made that this would be happening alongside the north of Ireland doing the same thing,” he said.

“The Minister himself had promised that, and then most recently at the end of last year, the Minister said if we proceed with this policy unilaterally, we risk undermining the effectiveness of it,” he said.

Additionally, Tara Buckley, director general of RGDATA told ShelfLife that there are real concerns among retailers about the shopping habits of consumers until the north commits to the same minimum pricing.

“Whilst it is early days in terms of the impact of minimum unit pricing on alcohol sales and purchasing habits, retailers, particularly those in border counties, are concerned about the impact of people opting to go north to purchase cheap alcohol and then doing the full weekly shop when they are up there.

“Obviously it would have been much easier if MUP was introduced in Northern Ireland simultaneously but this does not look likely for some time yet,” she said.

She said that retailers were also concerned about the significant increases in the wholesale price of alcohol following the introduction of MUP – up by almost 60% in one particular case raised with RGDATA –and about the impact that this will have on their sales and margins.

“RGDATA and our members have consistently opposed below cost selling of alcohol but it remains to be seen if MUP will deliver any health benefits by reducing alcohol consumption or will it just change purchasing habits.”

Under the new measures, a can of beer cannot be sold for less than €1.70

Retailers in border counties are particularly concerned about the impact of people opting to go north to purchase cheap alcohol and then doing the full weekly shop when they are up there, says RGDATA director general Tara Buckley

Dragging its feet

So why is Northern Ireland dragging its feet and can we hope to see similar legislation there anytime soon?

A spokesperson for the Department of Health in Northern Ireland stated that the introduction of MUP for alcohol has the “potential to be a key population-level health measure” to address the harms related to alcohol consumption.

Head of treatment at Northlands Addiction Treatment Centre in Derry, Tommy Canning, welcomed the Republic of Ireland’s move but said an all-island approach is necessary to battle alcohol addiction.

“There is some work ongoing at the moment within NIADA [Northern Ireland Drugs and Alcohol Alliance] both regionally and nationally around minimal alcohol pricing and they are bringing that to our local Executive and local Assembly,” he told BBC Radio Foyle.

“Northlands would like to see the assembly lifting this issue and looking at it seriously, again, as one part of the puzzle that would help to relieve and reduce alcoholism within the island of Ireland.”

According to the Belfast Telegraph’s Seamus McNamee, the director of the First and Last off-licence in Jonesborough, said that while the change in pricing will benefit his business, he wants to see the same changes brought into Northern Ireland.

“Over time, we would like it to be brought into Northern Ireland as well. Everybody will be on the one playing field regarding health service and abuse of alcohol,” McNamee said.

It would seem that there is a unanimous appetite for MUP to be introduced to Northern Ireland so it is hoped that a decision to come into line with the south will be made within the next couple of months and legislation to follow soon after. Everyone wants to see problem drinking eradicated but an all-Ireland approach to MUP is the only sensible way for it to happen. n