Superquinn to lay off 400 workers

[Towger]

To echo Towger's post, prepare to be dissapointed - very poor [broken link removed] (and check out who commented on my blog entry)!

If you are one of those people who painted their bedroom black...

I see from your photos the pen has now been nicked from the [broken link removed], you know, next time you go there that stand will be out the back, in a skip.

 

[ddcc]

The new owners of Superquinn are to blame for the 400 job losses !
They are a consortium or wealthy property developers and don't give a hoot about customers never mind the staff !They bought the business to make a quick buck on the rising property market and they havn't a clue about retailing ! Simon Burke has really damaged his reputation in his performance so far.

It has never been the same since Feargal Quinn and his key staff left.
He had experts in all area's eg Wine,Deli, Bakery, Butchery etc .. they all got out under the new regime !Most of the new management came from Lidl,Dunnes.....as they say "if you pay peanuts you get monkeys!"

 

[Caveat]

The new owners of Superquinn are to blame for the 400 job losses !
They are a consortium or wealthy property developers and don't give a hoot about customers never mind the staff !They bought the business to make a quick buck on the rising property market and they havn't a clue about retailing ! Simon Burke has really damaged his reputation in his performance so far.

I tend to agree.

Aldi are opening another store in Dundalk next month

Yes, which will make a total of 3 x Dunnes; 2 x Tesco; 2 x Aldi & 1 x Lidl.

Superquinn's closure, as well as bad management/slipping standards is much more down to cheap competition and their generally higher prices - especially given the current climate.

Mass exodus of shoppers to NI is a red herring IMO.

 

[Ceist Beag]

I tend to agree.



Yes, which will make a total of 3 x Dunnes; 2 x Tesco; 2 x Aldi & 1 x Lidl.

Superquinn's closure, as well as bad management/slipping standards is much more down to cheap competition and their generally higher prices - especially given the current climate.

Mass exodus of shoppers to NI is a red herring IMO.

Agree with all of that. We used to be fairly regular Superquinn shoppers in the days of Feargal Quinn but it has realy gone downhill since he sold. It has lost it's appeal and these days just looks like an overpriced Tescos.

 

[Padraigb]

The new owners of Superquinn are to blame for the 400 job losses !
They are a consortium or wealthy property developers and don't give a hoot about customers never mind the staff !They bought the business to make a quick buck on the rising property market and they havn't a clue about retailing ! Simon Burke has really damaged his reputation in his performance so far.

It has never been the same since Feargal Quinn and his key staff left.
He had experts in all area's eg Wine,Deli, Bakery, Butchery etc .. they all got out under the new regime !Most of the new management came from Lidl,Dunnes.....as they say "if you pay peanuts you get monkeys!"

To be fair, the new owners are only partly to blame. Circumstances have also worked against the Dundalk branch.

I have shopped in Superquinn Dundalk for years. I regarded them as being perhaps 5% more expensive than the competition, and 10% better, taking account of quality of product and service. That suited me. When Fergal Quinn sold, the new management quickly lost that quality focus, but it did not go entirely, as the longer-serving staff had good habits.

I'll miss them. And I feel great sympathy for many of the people who worked there, and made my shopping a more pleasant experience.

 

[ddcc]

Just read today in the Irish Times that Superquinn have also lost their chief Operations manager to Lidl.

I agree that it's a big smokescreen blaming "shoppers going North" for the job losses. It's all down to mismanagement.If Feargal Quinn was still there he'd innovate to save the jobs.

 

[Complainer]

I see from your photos the pen has now been nicked from the [broken link removed], you know, next time you go there that stand will be out the back, in a skip.

Actually, in the skip would be a big improvement. At least it would be a conscious management decision that this isn't working at present, as opposed just leaving the empty stand to gather dust and block trollies.

 

[ddcc]

There a bakery called Clarkes on the Navan rd in Cabra that sells the best turnovers in Dublin or you could try Thunders bakery Clontarf or Drumcondra !

 

[Lightning]

According to [broken link removed] the head of HR and others have walked.

There seems to be some serious problems in Superquinn

 

[John Rambo]

The new owners of Superquinn are to blame for the 400 job losses !
They are a consortium or wealthy property developers and don't give a hoot about customers never mind the staff !They bought the business to make a quick buck on the rising property market and they havn't a clue about retailing ! Simon Burke has really damaged his reputation in his performance so far.

A very strange post.

How are the owners of Superquinn to blame for the job losses? The global downturn, the Government for raising VAT, increased competition from Aldi/Lidl and sterling exchange rates are to blame.

The Superquinn deal clearly was a property play. The plan for Ballinteer for example was to level the place an rebuild with apartments above the store. Given the success of Ballintyre (the estate opposite the store), that wasn't a bad idea until the recession came along.

And yes, the investors did not know a lot about retail. Which is why they did what any decent businessman would do and hired one of the most highly thought of individuals in the retail game to run the show.
Burke is extremely well respected, especially in the UK for his work with Hamleys.

The key thing with this recession is that even the top business people in Ireland have been completely hammered and surprised by it.

 

[ddcc]

Select retail holdings haven't a clue about retailing. They took on Simon Burke who had great success selling Teddy Bears in England but couldn't "lace the shoes of Feargal Quinn"!
They opened a store in Portlaoise just a few months ago and I heard it could be next for the chop !