The RGDATA is the Retail Grocery Dairy and Allied Trade Association from Ireland. It represents the owners of over 3,500 independent family grocers, convenience stores, forecourt stores and supermarkets. Tara Buckley is the association Director General.
2022 has been the most stressful and challenging year for the 3,500 community shops and supermarkets that Ireland’s Retail Grocery Dairy & Allied Trades Association represents. Energy bills jumped by up to 400 percent; labour shortages and a string of new sustainability/circular economy and proposed new employment schemes have added to the cost of doing business and have left many independent convenience store and supermarket owners wondering about the future viability of their businesses.
Energy prices are the number one issue for Irish fresh food retailers at present. A relatively small supermarket is facing a bill of over €220k for energy in 2022. This is followed closely by challenges in sourcing good staff, food and cost inflation, insurance costs and new Government schemes around mandatory sick pay and auto-enrolment pensions coming in 2023 that will add significantly to labour costs.
The fallout from Brexit continues to impact on the Irish grocery sector as the UK was our biggest market for importing food and most of the EU sourced foods came in via the UK land bridge.
Covid was a mixed experience for independent food shops. Many showed just why they are the vital hub in their community. Customers appreciated how they stepped up to the mark to provide essential food and convenience services in a safe and friendly environment. For others in urban areas, business districts or near schools or universities, it was extremely challenging.
Covid did highlight the genuine strengths of local community supermarkets owned and operated by local people who are heavily invested in the local community. While the UK chain Tesco has 20 percent of the market and German discounters Aldi and Lidl have 12 percent each, most of the independent shops that RGDATA represents have joined buying groups over the past 30 years. They operate as part of a symbol group using their family name eg Twomey’s SuperValu and Timothy’s Londis. This has ensured that the independent sector still has over one third of Ireland’s total grocery/convenience market.
To be honest, there has not been a lot to “excite” Irish convenience retailers in 2022 – it has probably been the most stressful year for many as the horrendous increases in energy costs and input cost price inflation have created serious stress amongst even the best award-winning fresh food retailers. Even the most upbeat, optimistic member of RGDATA is concerned about the viability of their business.
RGDATA members have been engaging in many sustainability and circular economy measures over the past few years – offsetting carbon footprint by planting trees; installing alternative energy solutions; upgrading fridges and lighting, composting, segregating waste and managing food waste efficiently – our Government is introducing a Latte Levy in 2023. Retailers are disappointed that their efforts to source and use compostable cups is not being recognised, and all single-use cups will be treated the same. As a representative association, we are seeking more investment in Ireland’s composting facilities and a move to single-use compostable materials and consumer education to get them to manage waste responsibly so that compostable materials actually get composted and not thrown into mixed waste bins.
A deposit/return scheme for PET beverage bottles and aluminium cans will be introduced in Ireland in February 2024. It is a producer funded scheme and is supposed to be cost neutral for shopkeepers. As the scheme is being developed from scratch, there are a lot of concerns amongst retailers about manual handling versus investment in a Reverse Vending Machine and how it will impact their business. Negotiations about the rollout of the scheme will intensify in early 2023.
For the rest of 2023, RGDATA will be focussing on getting the Government to extend the Temporary Business Energy Support Scheme, ensuring Ireland’s Deposit & Return Scheme is fit for purpose and cost neutral for non-producer retailers. We will continue our campaign to reduce business costs, including Ireland’s high shop insurance costs and ensure that vital local community shops have a strong voice and representation at Government level.
