# Dunnes Stores: Worse Value beaten by them all.



## bullworth (4 Nov 2011)

Murt10 said:


> In the long term, I reckon Tesco are shooting themselves in the foot.



When it comes to competition from Aldi and Lidl yes but in my opinion Dunnes Stores is desperate. 

A walk around Dunnes is a headache inducing line of stickers proclaiming ''low price'' and ''half price'' when you'd see that product selling for ''half price'' for what seems like 12 months of the year.

 A special offer for Cadburys chocolate  at 2 Euro per bar was beaten at Tescos where their offer worked out at 1.75 Euro per bar. Then as soon as the offer was over the price was bumped up to something like 2.69 Euro and a sticker proclaiming ''low price'' which just doesnt make any sense.

Therefore there is even less trust there in the real value of an offer for me. Even their discounts on ''almost expired''' goods are ridiculous and often don't beat the price of their deal on 2 ''fresh'' items.

As I see it, Dunnes only has it's long established pre-celtic tiger embedded locations as anchor tenants in it's favor which acts to keep competition out and draw in lazy customers or pensioners stuck in their shopping habits.

For example it owns or controls almost all of Georges Street in Dublin. If the right site on Georges Street was available you'd see an Aldi or Lidl spring up there very quickly. As a national brand I think they could be doing better than this. There is little competition in the whole sector apart from Aldi and Lidl. 

We need something or someone else to shake up the market.


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## ajapale (4 Nov 2011)

Hi Bullworth,

Ive moved your post from the Tesco overcharging thread: Consumer Issues and Rights       >  Tesco fined €600: charging more at the tills than the price displayed on shelf. 

I have given it a new title. Please let me know if you are ok with this.

I shop in Dunnes stores and would observe that the green labels mean "very poor value". The yellow labels mean "confusing 3for2, 2for1 deals for products whose price has been hiked in the last number of months".

For example Robinsons NAS range are €1.90/l (with 2 for the price of one). These are selling in Buy-Lo (indigenous Irish retailer) for €1.19 no confusing multi purchase necessary.

Also for example Dunnes proclaim in their green lable "Dunnes stores not beaten" Bastmati Rice (generic) 1.89/kg in Aldi and 1.89/kg in Dunnes. Firstly the exact same price does not mean "better" value and secondly they neglect to mention that generic Basmati Rice in Tescos and Super value is €1.49/kg.

Take my advice and take a note book & calculato with you and note the per unit price of everything (if its not given or is part of a multi purchace promotion then calculate the per unit price). Wait for a real value then stock up on that item.

aj


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## bullworth (4 Nov 2011)

Thanks Ajapale. That's a great idea. I have been very disappointed with Dunnes Stores. I often wonder how they manage to turn a profit as they seem very old fashioned and cynical in their approach. I think they need a shake up in management and to change with the times. They are as close to a national brand that we have and they really should be able to do better.

If you think about it , what exactly differentiates Dunnes Stores from any other supermarket ? I can't think of one thing. The slogan ''because we're Irish'' which is debatable in itself isn't exactly a reason to shop with them especially in a recession and sounds to me anyway very parochial.

I am a careful shopper and there has only been one decent offer in Dunnes that I can remember when recently Innocent were selling their Orange juice at half price but in general if you're looking for the best deal you do not sacrifice any quality whatsoever by shopping elsewhere.


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## T McGibney (4 Nov 2011)

Oddly enough I find Dunnes Stores in Cavan are quite good, price-wise. Maybe they are trying harder there to combat the threat of Asda etc across the border.


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## pudds (4 Nov 2011)

bullworth said:


> We need something or someone else to shake up the market.




Fat chance of that I reckon.....quite the opposite will happen.

I remember the last recession in the 70's coupled with the oil crisis then and H.Williams bit the dust, and things weren't as bad then are they are now in this country. 

Winner will take all..... meantime we have so called bargains!

enjoy now pay later.


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## hippy1975 (5 Nov 2011)

I find a lot of prices much higher in Dunnes, and on more than one occasion I've been charged more than the price on the shelf, you really have to be careful there.  Also i'm afraid the staff are usually uninterested and sometimes just plain rude, I would rate all of Aldi, Super valu , tesco and Lidl above them.  Have thought this for a while about Dunnes so avoided it as much as possible but recently ended up doing one big shop there and it confirmed everything I thought - never again


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## ajapale (5 Nov 2011)

I do my main shop in Dunnes and the trick is to recognise where the real value is in any given week. You need to have an idea what the prices are else where (Tescos, SValue, Lidl, Aldi, Buy-Lo and the smaller multiples). If something is very dear in Dunnes then dont buy it.

In fairness to my local Dunnes the staff are very pleasant and helpful and apologetic when I point out a mistake.

Dunnes Milk in 3l packs tastes good and is very cheap.


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## bullworth (5 Nov 2011)

ajapale said:


> Dunnes Milk in 3l packs tastes good and is very cheap.




I'd like to see examples of where Dunnes has led on price. From memory I don't think the 3 Litre milk in Dunnes saves you more than a few cent (maybe 5 cent or close?) compared to the 2 Litre cartons.
I have always picked up my milk in ethnic stores in Dublin. They usually are about 40 to 50 cents cheaper than the supermarkets per 2 Litres. Iceland in Moore Street has gone back to selling milk for 95 cent per 2 Litres. If the ban on below cost selling is still in force this means that even the discount supermarkets must have a really high markup on milk as all of them seem to have the exact same price point there.

 My experience has been that you might find one promotion once in a blue moon e.g Inniocent Orange juice selling for half price but if you use Dunnes exclusively to feed a family then you will be seriously out of pocket. Dunnes in particular seems to be one place where they say one thing and do another leading to a headache inducing negative shopping experience when one just wants to relax and give the brain a bit of a rest after a long day. Very expensive products can have words like ''sale'' and ''low price'' stickered all over them. In fact such behaviour seems typical there.


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## T McGibney (5 Nov 2011)

bullworth said:


> I'd like to see examples of where Dunnes has  led on price.


Dunnes in Cavan currently cheaper than Asda in Enniskillen for some items, Nom & Yoplait yogurts, Connacht Gold butter and bagels three such items I bought today. 



bullworth said:


> if you use  Dunnes exclusively to feed a family then you will be seriously out of  pocket.



that goes for all Irish supermarket chains


bullworth said:


> a headache inducing negative shopping  experience when one just wants to relax and give the brain a bit of a  rest after a long day.



Dunnes do need to improve their customers' shopping experience, but not just in pricing. Many of their stores are cramped and shoddy, their product range is limited, their own brand products are of questionable quality, and their checkout technology is about 15 years behind the competition, thus longer queues.


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## ajapale (5 Nov 2011)

T McGibney said:


> and their checkout technology is about 15 years behind the competition, thus longer queues.



Yes Ive often wondered about this! Whats with the regular "cashing out" activity at the tills in which everything comes to a standstill while a manager and an assistant go through some kind of a ritual lasting several minutes while customers just wait in line?

Ive never seen it in Tescos or SV.


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## bullworth (6 Nov 2011)

T McGibney said:


> Dunnes in Cavan currently cheaper than Asda in Enniskillen for some items, Nom & Yoplait yogurts, Connacht Gold butter and bagels three such items I bought today.



Which shows that when they need to they can lower their prices. They would only have lower prices at the border because otherwise people will cross the border for their shopping.




T McGibney said:


> that goes for all Irish supermarket chains



It's a question of comparing them though. I find Dunnes worse for almost everything. I find Dunnes doesnt' have an identity and is stuck in the past. I can't think of one way Dunnes differentiates itself in a positive way from the other stores.


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## Newbie! (6 Nov 2011)

ajapale said:


> Dunnes Milk in 3l packs tastes good and is very cheap.


But, and forgive me if I am wrong, Dunnes is not irish milk. THis annoys me, milk is the one thing which we have in abundance in the country and we still have to go to the UK or NI to buy it??


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## ajapale (6 Nov 2011)

Dunnes milk comes from the North but Tescos milk comes from the South. They are the same price.

Tescos milk suffers from that weird plastic "taint" occasionally. Ive posted about it here a few times.
Miscellaneous Non-financial Questions   	>  Does milk in translucent plastic bottles taste horrible? (was Tesco or Branded Milk)


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## AlbacoreA (6 Nov 2011)

I rarely shops in Dunnes, but when I do go in, it doesn't seem to have much in the way of good offers. My local Centra seems to have better prices.


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## Newbie! (7 Nov 2011)

ajapale said:


> Dunnes milk comes from the North but Tescos milk comes from the South. They are the same price.
> 
> Tescos milk suffers from that weird plastic "taint" occasionally. Ive posted about it here a few times.
> Miscellaneous Non-financial Questions     > Does milk in translucent plastic bottles taste horrible? (was Tesco or Branded Milk)


Agreed on the horrible taste! We now buy our milk in single litres from Aldi. Two litres containers, as per several other stores, comes from NI.


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