We need your help now
Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.
You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.
If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.
Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
By continuing, you are indicating that you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
IT’S THAT TIME of the year again: are you wrecked from queuing up for deals at 4am today?
We’ve become accustomed to pictures every Stephen’s Day of eager shopper forsaking their warm beds so they can get a huge telly at half price.
The holiday is now one of the main shopping days of the year, when Ireland’s retailers kick off some of their biggest sales.
But when did this start? For years, virtually no major shops in Ireland opened the day after Christmas Day. Unions had agreements in place that staff would not have to work the days after Christmas.
“Not only was Stephen’s Day protected, but the 27th was protected too,” says Gerry Light, the assistant general secretary of Mandate trade union, which represents workers in many of Ireland’s most prominent shops.
They were seen as trade days off for workers. In the run up to Christmas retail workers are generating huge profits (for their employers). They deserved the break, but we’ve seen the demise of that and Stephen’s Day.
UK move
It’s hard to pinpoint the exact year when that began to change, but it seems to have been about 10 years ago.
Huge numbers of UK retailers were setting up outposts in the Republic to take advantage of the boom-era spending power of Irish consumers. They brought with them their culture of starting their major sales right after Christmas Day.
It became a thing about 10 years ago when companies invested lots of money in it and gave it a big media focus,” says Thomas Burke, a director at business group Retail Ireland.
“It was in the UK for a number of years and was adopted in Ireland as an idea to move Christmas stock and drive some excitement in the retail calendar, to create an event for consumers that would get them out shopping.”
“British operators always viewed Boxing Day, as it’s called there, in a different way – it was traditionally the commencement of their sales. Their influx had a heavy influence,” Light says.
Most unions had agreements with Irish retailers that went back “decades” not to open on Stephen’s Day, says Light: “Stephen’s Day was sacrosanct.”
However, shortly after many UK retailers came over to Ireland, the country went into recession. Many indigenous shops started opening on Stephen’s Day, saying that they needed the money, and the old agreements fell away.
The year 2009 seems to have been the first time that Stephen’s Day sales took off across the industry. Arnotts, Clerys and Brown Thomas, major Irish retailers who had previously closed on the 26th, all opened in a major symbolic break from tradition.
Growth
And people were buying, so the stores kept opening. By 2011 hundreds of dedicated shoppers had started queuing since the morning outside their favourite outlets, waiting for them to open.
Since then the sales have grown and grown, and now the snaking queues for Brown Thomas have become almost as linked to Christmas in Ireland as Santa Claus.
Where does Stephen’s Day go from here? While people are eager to shop, Light and Burke suggest that the sales on the 26th don’t do much good for either workers or retailers.
“Black Friday and Cyber Monday have probably reduced the importance of sales like Stephen’s Day a bit,” says Burke. “Until a few years ago products were full price until Stephen’s Day, now discounts start in the last weekend of November.
With rising costs and margins, your margins get squeezed. If it was to continue I think you would see retailers going under.
“(Sales) are a challenge because if you don’t do it you risk the consumer walking out the door, but it’s become almost like a drug for the industry, which has become reliant on promotions to drive footfall.”
When it was put to Burke that the damage may be self-inflicted, as many retailers have driven sales days such as Stephen’s Day, he says: “I think it’s very much both parties, consumers and retailers.
“You have to react to what consumer want or you won’t be in business very long. Consumers are more savvy now and it has necessitated this constant promotional cycle. It’s where we are.”
Closed?
Light says that he would love to see a reintroduction of all retailers closing on Stephen’s Day to give workers time off, arguing the day is of little net benefit to stores anyway.
(Stephen’s Day sales) don’t generate any more money or gift vouchers: shoppers have the same amount of disposable income.
“It’s also more expensive to trade anyway. Employers have to compensate for public workers and many pay time and a half or double pay.”
However, he and Burke concede it’s unlikely to happen. Fora asked about half a dozen retailers if they were planning to open on the 26th this year. A response from Arnotts reiterates Burke’s point.
Due to customer demand, Arnotts will open on St Stephen’s Day, offering all our customers an unrivalled product range,” a spokesman said.
The stores will open because consumers want them to, even if, as Light says, it’s a false economy due to the heavy discounting on offer.
“Retailers know it doesn’t add massively to their bottom line but no-one will be the first to close because if they do, and their competitors remain open, that would impact them,” he says.
Written by Paul O’Donoghue and posted on Fora.ie
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Lets start the PR campaign for increased premiums for this year. Insurance industry do you job and stop moaning.
Every time there’s a natural disaster somewhere around the world we’re asked to dig into our pockets and help out. While I’m not comparing this to the loss of life or devastation of some of these disasters to this series of storms I can’t help wondering if anyone around the world will give a damn about us or put their hands in their pockets for our communites wiped out by these storms. I doubt it. We’ll be left to fend for ourselves and raise more levies to pay for the repairs. No happy endings here.
Despite our current troubles, we aren’t a third world country.
No children will starve because of this storm.
Your comparing apples and oranges.
Actually I stressed that I wasn’t trying to compare our current troubles, as you choose to describe them, to anyone else’s. What I said was that when others had disasters far worse than what we’re currently experiencing we have consistently put our hands in our pockets to help them out, I’m simply ask for a little quid pro quo.
This need not necessarily come from those third world countries you describe but, just as we helped other countries on the other side of the world, there are plenty of wealthy countries on the other side of the planet who we have helped out in the past when they weren’t so well off.
I bet they are rubbing their hands together saying what ever we spend we will triple it next year by raising rates
Presumably all these premium increases will be reversed once the profit margins reach previous levels.
I thought insurance companies didn’t cover damage by acts or nature or acts of God?!
Can they prove that god exists, that it was an act of god? Tot so
I’m covered so, as an athiest.
If they’re going to claim it’s an act of God, then prove God exists.
You prove he exists iv things to do today il give ye a hand tomorrow
They can’t make up the cost because their too busy making up increase in premiums first.
This will be covered by the wet storm and flood peril operative on all standard home insurance policies.
They’ll pull some excuse out of their holes not to pay out for damages. Insurance companies are nothing but thiefs.
Like “sorry but we don’t cover flood damage cos you…… Em live on a fookin island” or something. Storm damaged roof recently wasn’t covered and excuse given was bad workmanship when the house was built…… 12 years ago, if the workmanship was that bad surely one of the storms over the last 12 years would have exposed it.
What gets me is if you have a claim they increase your insurance on renewal,but if you have no claim during the term of your policy they don’t do likewise and decrease it,no it always goes up for some reason or another,then they take away flood cover,now this is like 50%,of your policy,now does your policy go down 50%,no it dissent,its time to tink outside the box on other ways of protecting your property like some kind of co,op and get rid of these insurance parasites.
The majority of affected properties damaged will not be covered for flooding due to the exclusions in their policies as all the areas are have flooded before and once their is a claim for flood in the area all properties in the area are designated as a flood area. So all they will pay for is a few slates
have your say