I would like to, I worked for Dunnes for four years. But they just can’t or won’t compete with Lidl and Aldi on price. I can come out of Aldi/Lidl with a weeks grocery shopping for 60 quid while Dunnes would cost at least 100.

I shop around now,a bit time consuming,but defo helps with the budget for the weekly shop

I shop where it is cheapest… end of

Where’s the “no, they’re too expensive” option?

Sausages notwithstanding, Superquinn prices can be quite extortionate. Tesco’s not great on value either compared with ze Germans but they do have the widest variety so that goes some way in many peoples choice of supermarket.

We shop in Lidl. prices are excellent, quality superb and they support local producers. Many Lidl own brands are Irish produced and Lidl pay their suppliers on time. Irish owened chains do not support local producers and when they do they demand draconian price and credit terms so why support them. I refuse to shop in tesco because i dont like the business ethics they practice.

Just as a matter of interest do Aldi/Lidl bring any less benefit to the local economy than Dunnes, Superquinn of SuperValu! A lot of products seem to be sourced in Ireland anyway and I’m sure they’re just as liable to Irish taxes too!

I ideally like to shop in Aldi for all cereals, bread, tinned goods, toiletries, pasta etc. It’s FAR cheaper then Tesco. I find Tesco come out with all these price matching things but they slip in higher prices on other items so you still end up spending more. Lidl is great for veg and I try to stick to local butcher for meat as much as I can. I use Supervalu fishmongers usually. No matter where I shop I try to buy as much Irish as I can and I’m careful to read packaging to make sure it is actually Irish and not just a clever marketing tool. It pays to shop around but it also takes a lot of time so it’s not always possible for everyone.

It seems ludicrous to support Irish stores, in an effort to keep the money in Ireland, when our spineless government give away billions to unsecured bondholders. I’m afraid it has come down to ‘every man for himself ‘.
Aside from that, I prefer Aldi, – the staff are always friendly & the vegetables are very fresh and cheap, I even bought my computer in Aldi, – it was 1/2 the price of Harvey Norman’s, with a much better guarantee. There is a huge difference between what you can buy in Aldi for €100 and what you can buy in Tesco for the same amount.

We face a similar dilema here in Canada. With stores such as Walmart, Safeway, Costco and soon to more US brands such as Target coming North into the country.

But I do even better than shopping at Canadian retailers. I make every effort to shop at local small businesses above and beyond shopping Canadian. Especially when you find that local produce shops, bakeries, butchers, fish mongers tend to have better pricing and/or quality than the major brand retailer, regardless if they’re home grown or imported.

At least you know by shopping local that your investment is staying local. And not going into the corporate coffers elsewhere in the country or worse, out of country. And that you’re not over paying on goods to satisfy the greedy demands of nameless and faceless shareholders more interested in never ending increases to the share values and their ever increasing profits over the old school values involved with serving the needs of the consumer.

I worked for Dunnes twice, and tbh, don’t really care much about them, from seeing how stingy they are towards their staff in favour of the ‘sacred’ customer (you can be generous to both imo, and an optimal business will). If that changed, I’d be supportive of them.

I like Tesco, because they are good to stock organic/fairtrade kinds of stuff. They have home delivery. Their prices and offers are good. I like Aldi because it is durt cheap. It’s not good on the ‘organic’ front, but it’s good when your money is limited.

I shop in Tesco (normally online, as it happens to be the most convenient). For the most part I find the Irish-owned stores are more expensive- anytime I’ve done shopping in Dunnes or Superquinn it’s certainly been dearer.
However, anyone who lives in North County Dublin will know that JCs is deadly for the aul bargains-my mam always got stuff there!

There are 4 supermarkets in the town where I live, 1 of them are irish owned and its the most expensive and at the end of the day it comes down to cost.
I would like to support more irish business’s but if I can save €20 to €30 I will shop elsewhere, at least these “foreign” supermarkets are keeping a lot of people employed in the area

Price dictates where I shop. And Aldi and Lidl win every time and they sell Irish Produce so I am also supporting Irish without being ripped off. You can’t compare a local store no matter what brand to them. One example. The Pecan Plait Pastries are 60 cent in Lidl. They are 1.20 in Spar near me. Sorry Lidl wins and they are baked in the store dead fresh.

I have been shopping at Aldi and Lidl since they opened and you can’t beat them for value. They have increased their stock of Irish produced products enormously over the past few years. If you wanted you could do your weekly shop there, buying only Irish products.

I can’t control the amount I spend on petrol, i.e. I use half a tank and thats it. I can’t control the amount of fuel we use (lighting and heat), these necessaries are controlled by taxing/government prices/company prices, but I can control how much we spend on our food bills, so unfortunately, if it means Aldi or Lidl, so be it. But most of the stuff we buy from Aldi (bar cereals, spanish sausages etc) is Irish foods anyways, just the bigger (greedier) chains didn’t give these Irish lads a chance to begin with

To be honest I would love to but it depends on the prices. Every penny counts today !!!

i do the big shop in tesco the prices and range are great, get my meat from the butchers as its always better quality and cheaper and i go to superQuinn but only for their lovely sausages and breads id like to support Irish stores more but feeding my family costs a lot as it is

If people in other countries only shopped in their own and only bought their own produce…we would not be able to export anywhere. So what is all this rubbish about buying Irish and supporting your own.

Good reading in this article. I’m a butcher for Supervalu.. We pride ourselves in my store on quality. Nothing else will do. Tesco etc can’t give you that personnel touch as the musgrave brand.

Been doing our main weekly shop at Aldi for years now and the quality and value for money have been very good. Even buy most of our meat there which is Irish. Top up with some branded goods at the local SuperValu also. Try to avoid Tesco if I can! The brand snobs on here make me laugh, many of the Aldo own-brand products are produced by the same manufacturers of the branded goods with a different label and at a lower cost!

Sorry, I just see a comment above stating that Musgraves is a British company, this is not true, Supervalu and now superquinn is owned and operated by Musgraves which is a solely Irish owned company

they’re a rip off… Would buy in Irish supermarkets only if the prices were a bit lower. The other supermarkets have competitive prices which in the current economic climat are much more affordable and convenient I guess.

I *try* to shop in Irish grocery stores but every time I go to Dunnes Stores to get fruit and veg I find many of them gone off or in a very poor state. The I walk over to Lidl across the road and find organic fruit and veg in great nick for the same price as regular (non-organic) produce in Dunnes. Often times I’ll find the veg is Irish sourced too, so there’s just no contest. My kingdom for an actual greengrocers…

Of course with price matching it doesn’t make a huge amount of difference. Everything ends up over priced.

What happened to competition?

And when can we have an Asda?

Preference would be Aldi, our local supermarket is a Lidl, which we use mostly for convenience, I am surprised at the amount of people who think their veg is fresh though, I usually buy the large packets of spinach, tomatoes, broccoli, but find that by the time I get home they’ve become discoloured, you can be lucky if they’ve just got their stock in, but I find myself rooting through the veg to try and find something fresh, and the fact that there is no best before / sell by date on the fruit and veg is quite annoying. Every second time I go to Dunnes, Tesco or Superquinn there’s a problem at the checkout and as a previous poster said, too much chit-chat, much prefer the quick check out service at Lidl and Aldi, though I could do with an extra pair of arms at times, which is a good thing

M&S is the worst – recently saw Strawberries from America and Potatoes from Israel. As if Irish Farms can’t supply those – walked out in disgust!!

Have a ever noticed there is no music in Lydl and Aldi? Sometimes it can be weirdly quiet when you’re the only customer there.
Also I’ve noticed all the new staff in Lydl and Aldi seem to be Irish and they used to be all eastern European. Although that’s like everywhere.

Lidl and Aldi, do offer good quality for money. The people are still being ripped off in this Country, we may not like the EU or Germany right now. But you have to admit, we are being treated badly as customers by our own and we need to vote with our feet. The day of, charging what they like for poor quality, has to come to an end!

Dunnes, Superquinn, Tesco, etc are just not competitive. There would be a difference of around €60 per week if I shopped in Dunnes instead of Lidl or Aldi. It would be even more if I shopped in Superquinn. It would be great to be able to support an Irish store but in reality it is just not possible.

The price differences are stunning: Lidl has potted herb plants for €1.50 each, for instance, while they’re “two for €5″ in Superquinn. Aldi had specials for 67c last week including packs of plums, bags of apples, packs of peppers, etc. Organic eggs are €2.50 for 6 in Lidl. Big avocados which ripen perfectly in a week are 59c each. And so on. The same trolley of goods will cost €70 in Lidl or Aldi and €120 in any of the Irish-owned supermarkets.
And they have Irish staff – a mixture of Irish and eastern European, usually.
I’m no fan of sending the profits back to Germany, but then the rich of Ireland wouldn’t be my favourite people either.

I always shop aldi simply because
My lshopping used to cost me) 170 euro a week in dunnes it now only costs me between 60 and 80 euro a week and that is a trolly full to feed my family of four, the fruit and veg is always fresh and lasts ages too. Other supermarkets are a rip off especially Supervalu why would you pay 6 something for all pack of nappies when u can buy them for 2.39 in aldi and they are much better then pampers or huggies tbh

Irish supermarket Brennan’s sliced pan
€2.29 at spar next day at Tesco €1.58 that why I don’t shop at Irish supermarkets 71 cent in the difference

would definately welcome an asda,as a scot find the prices here a complete rip off!

I always shop in Superquinn. There is no comparison when it comes to quality food.

I find the race to the bottom that Aldi and Lidl started, and Tesco joined in on, (including mass importing of foreign crap) very worrying for Irish food producers and farmers.

How come there’s no option to vote a plain and simple no?? While I’m all for supporting Irish and supporting local, I am also trying to support myself and the only way to do that is to shop in the most cost effective shops, which is Aldi and Lidl. Dunnes had it good enough for long enough and it’s high time they came down to the ordinary joes level. Match the competition and try to support struggling families. Besides a huge proportion of the produce in Aldi and Lidl is Irish so it’s not as if Irish farmers/producers aren’t benefiting.

Use to shop in Tesco, few years ago switche to Lidl and Ardkeen Stores in waterford. The quality of produce in Ardkeen is usually top notch esp the meat. So for where i dont care to much quality and want low prices i go for lidl and where i want quality i go to Ardkeen. In the last few weeks did a few shops in tescos just to compare prices and the overal total spend is about the same. except tescos meat does not seem the same quality as Ardkeens and the fish counter smells.

There is no ‘no’ button in the survey.

I tend to visit them all, about once a month I go to Aldi to stock up on washing powder, toiletries, veg (great value offers each week, way cheaper than any of the others) and other weeks I’ll go to Tesco purely because it’s the store I’m most familiar with and so if I’m in a hurry I’ll get the shopping done faster. Occasionally I also go to Dunnes as it’s easier to find parking but I always end up spending more there and find that when I check my receipt I often haven’t been given the BOGOF offers, etc which is very annoying & misleading as when you put the items in the trolley you expect to get the discount promised. I don’t think loyalty to a particular supermarket is advisable in this day & age. It’s all about price for me. This week in fact I’m stony broke so living off whatever’s in the fridge or cupboards, I’d recommend everyone do it now and again as you’d be surprised how much food is there just waiting to be eaten!

Ok I can shop in supermarket owned by an Irish capitalist who will avoid paying tax in this country or I can shop in a supermarket owned by foreign capitalist’s who will avoid paying tax in this country. Hmmm let me see?

James you make some fair points but where the profits go makes no difference. If lidl send the profit they make to the fatherland or some Irish business man does the same thing to avoid paying extra tax it makes no difference. Irish farmers are doing something wrong. If they can’t find better and cheaper ways to farm then they will loose out completely. They have been subsidised for too long and now need to cop on. I love shopping local but often can only afford to do a small amount of it. The rest has to come from lidl or I’d be broke. The Irish middle man is the major problem adding unnecessary costs on to the product. Ireland needs to crash in the food market to cut out the rip off mentality that’s still prevails.

I actively try to avoid shopping in Irish-owned supermarkets, though it can prove inevitable. Moreover, I try to purchase those goods where the only connection to Ireland is their present location, the possibility that an Irish person may have handled them at some point, and the likelihood that their by-products will end up in sewers in Ireland.

It pains me to think about the owners of supermarkets in Ireland having a trace of Irish blood coursing through their veins. There is just something …tainted…about the knowledge that I work all week and then spend an hour traipsing around their shops, loading my trolley with non-Irish foodstuffs, and labouring as if I were an unpaid employee, in order to bump up the bank balance of some bloodsucker who markets himself and his products on the basis of a connection to Irish blood and soil.

That said, if supermarkets were owned by the people who actually worked in them, along the lines of the Eroski co-operative in Spain, then I mightn’t give a damn about their owners’ origins.

As a crusty old bachelor of 33 who hates grocery shopping I like to go where I can get in and out as quick as possible. Lidl and Adli won’t have delays at the till caused by the cashiers gossiping with the person in front about the latest affair or how the Christening went. Also Lidl and Aldi don’t have those annoying announcements “Mr. Dunne, Customer service please”. Also Tesco self service beats them all.

might be a bit off the point but lidl has nicer stuff than aldi and just a bit dearer ;)

when i walk into an aldi or lidl its always posh people shopping there! lol, they drive down even to “bad areas” to shop there. But they tell there friends its from M&S.

I shop in Dunnes, hubby shops in Tesco, Aldi and Lidl.

I find a better range in dunnes and they always have offers on the Tesco store near us is small and the layout is horrid.

Well siad the rich of Ireland would not be my favourite people either…

Downside for me shopping at Aldi/Lidl was that i couldn’t get all my shopping there..I get everything in Dunnes now.

I live in West Cork and to have the luxury of shopping in Aldi or Lidl, have to drive 24 miles and back. As for Tesco and Dunnes, my nearest shop is Cork City which is 50 miles each way. So I am forced to shop in the local Supervalu, which is not only more expensive, but lacks in quality what the other stores offer. As this is also a tourist area, I hate to think what holidaymakers think of the lack of choice.

Decrease VAT and I’ll consider it.

Terrible fruit and veg though. The worst quality in Ireland.

I prefer quality Irish produce where at all possible .
I prefer to shop locally .
I prefer to support local jobs.
I prefer to spend my money in shops locally where we know we are supporting local jobs and where the profits are ploughed back in to Irish run businesses supporting Irish jobs , Irish produce and local community .
I can also do this online should I choose to.
The staff hail from local communities and the businesses are run by local families .
No question in my mind and the price comparisons show this SuperValu for me top of the list .

Lol!

Dave I can’t reply to you directly but Irish farm output some of the best food on the planet so we agree in part. However they only do it at a low price when someone like lidl come along. If we were stuck with the likes of SQ forever the farmers would happily continue ripping us off while getting subsidised to throw crooked carrots in the bin.

The difference is I’m Irish !

i shop mainly purely for price buying mostly irish goods. Dunnes have gone way down ib terms of service and quality. having spoken to suppliers tesco are well liked as they pay on time. supervalu quite good also.

Maybe a better question would be…how many of our elected representative’s shop in Irish supermarkets?After all,are they not in power to do the country good??
Has anyone seen Edna or any of his cronies pushing a trolley around a Supervalu or Superquinn??

We do most of our shopping at tesco’s because: 1. better food selection 2. Better prices. 3. Location. And will favour supervalu over dunnes for freshness and local produce.
We buy all fruit and veg from local green grocer and select on distance from us compared to price, same goes for meat products we will always choose board bia and or Irish flag. The money saved by buying in a multinational store like tesco on mass produced non-Irish food items (sugar, salt, coffee, tea, rice etc) allows us to spend a bit more when it comes to local, organic fresh food.
We enjoy the taste of real home cooked food and not microwave/American TV style advertised low in fat/salt probiotic junk food.

I came here expecting to see a passionate debate on the merits of profits staying in Ireland versus the creation of Irish jobs, and all I got was post after post on the cost of groceries.

Comment way way up should spell
ASDA !

Why do these phones change everything