IBEC logo

IBEC - Business sectors


Site Search:
Advanced search
You are here: » Home » Business sectors » Retail Ireland

Retail Ireland

Retail Ireland is the national representative body for the entire retail sector. It represents Irish and international department stores, DIY, electrical retailers, fashion and footwear retailers, major supermarket groups, symbol groups and a range of specialist retailers. The retail sector There are over 20,000 food and non-food retail enterprises in Ireland with 240,000 employees. These companies are both Irish and international but mostly SMEs. They have all invested heavily in their businesses in the last decade. Key issue - falling demand The retail market has shrunk by over one fifth in value terms since 2007 due to the recession. Retailers have responded by cutting their prices. The cost of running a shop has not fallen much by comparison due to inflexible rents, property service charges, local authority charges and hourly pay rates. Action needed Retailers are suffering more than anybody due to the fall in retail sales and needed help from the incoming Government in the areas below in line with detailed proposals made by Retail Ireland. Consumer spending - help the customer side of retail by implementing policies recommended by IBEC in its election manifesto 'Delivering the Jobs Agenda' that will boost employment and so increase consumer spending. Rents - introduce legislation to address unsustainable rents. JLCs - abolish the JLC system of regulated wage agreements and maintain the national minimum wage at €7.65. Bank credit - get credit flowing to business by introducing a loan guarantee scheme for SMEs. Local authority charges - introduce a property tax to fund local authority services thus enabling a 25% reduction in commercial rates. Employment Approximately 240,000 people work in retailing in Ireland. Approximately 50,000 former retail employees have gone on the Live Register since 2008. Retailing is a major employer in every community in the country. Retailing offers people careers in their own locality. Retailing provides a range of specialised careers such as merchandising, supply chain management, finance, IT and purchasing. Serving the customer Retailing is intensely competitive because anybody is free to open a shop in Ireland. There have been many new market entrants. Retail is dominated by consumer preferences – quality, value for money, customer service, choice, new products, healthy foodstuffs and lower prices. Retailing is very close to the consumer as it involves millions of weekly transactions. Nobody forces consumers to use any one retailer – they make their own choice. Without customers a retailer goes out of business so consumers have the power in the relationship. Local sourcing Retailers source locally where possible, especially fresh food. The retail sector is crucial as the channel to market the Irish food produce. Retailers have a strong commitment to sourcing Irish food produce. Retailers provide a ready market for small local producers and are usually their first customers. Retailers here that are part of an international group can provide access for Irish producers to the wider group.

Related topics

Contact us
Stephen Lynam Director firstname.surname@ibec.ie Tel: (01) 6051558

RRAI website


Back to Section Index

© Irish business and employer confederation (IBEC), 2012
IBEC Head Office
Confederation House, 84/86 Lower Baggot Street, Dublin 2, Ireland
Tel: (01) 605 1500, Fax: (01) 638 1500