Dublin IKEA store to open in July

7684 Views 40 Replies 13 Participants Last post by plank007, Aug 9, 2009

odlum833

Discussion Starter · Jun 11, 2009

Roadway hitch threatens to scupper IKEA store opening

FEARS are growing that a new IKEA store -- which will employ 500 people -- will not be able to open on time next month.

The Swedish furniture shop cannot open for business until routes around its north Dublin site are upgraded, but the National Roads Authority (NRA) admitted yesterday it would be a "surprise" if the work was completed by the July 27 opening date.

The off-ramps from the M50 near the Ballymun interchange of the M50 are still under construction, with substantial road works yet to be completed around the massive store -- despite the looming six-week deadline.

However, Fingal County Council, which is responsible for ensuring the network is complete, said yesterday it was confident the works would be completed to allow the store open next month.

Only "minor matters" remained to be addressed, it insisted.

IKEA was not available for comment yesterday, but has previously criticised the delay in completing the roads.

It claims it has lost tens of millions of euro in lost sales, adding that the store was finished last November.

Despite intensive lobbying by IKEA to speed up works, the NRA has repeatedly said its timetable for the works would not be changed to facilitate the company.

An Bord Pleanala granted planning permission for the 30,500 square metre store in June 2007, but on condition it could only open when upgrading works on the motorway and construction of local roads were complete.

Concerns

Yesterday, a spokesman for the NRA said it had concerns about the road network.

"Hopefully, this will come to fruition, but the NRA is still concerned about the traffic impacts," he said.

"It would be a pleasant surprise if it was ready by July. The contractor is not obliged to have works completed on that section until December this year."

Informed sources have said the network is unlikely to be finished until September or October, which will also result in delays in 500 people taking up employment. It would take a "concerted effort" to get works complete by July, the source added.

However, a Fingal County Council statement said: "We are satisfied that substantial compliance with planning conditions is complete or nearing completion and that road/traffic improvement works in the vicinity of the IKEA site in Ballymun, required by condition under the planning permission granted by An Bord Pleanala, will be completed at the time of IKEA opening.

"Minor outstanding matters are the subject of current and ongoing discussions with the relevant parties and are progressing satisfactorily.

"We envisage all required works will be completed by the IKEA opening date."

IKEA opened its first Irish store in Belfast in December 2007 and has said it would consider opening a third branch in Ireland, depending on the success of the Dublin and Belfast outlets.

- Paul Melia

Id say it's unlikely the M50 works will be completed in 6 weeks but it is possible.

Save

Status: Not open for further replies.

1 - 20 of 41 Posts

suburbansky

· #2 · Jun 11, 2009

Surprised to hear that there is no Ikea in the ROI yet. Where do you guys get your furniture from, then?

The transport links to these are always a crucial issue - traffic usually goes up quite heavily. In Switzerland, an Ikea project has been stuck for years now just because they cannot agree on a transport scheme.

Save

belfastuniguy

· #3 · Jun 12, 2009

suburbansky said:
Surprised to hear that there is no Ikea in the ROI yet. Where do you guys get your furniture from, then?

The transport links to these are always a crucial issue - traffic usually goes up quite heavily. In Switzerland, an Ikea project has been stuck for years now just because they cannot agree on a transport scheme.

They come to IKEA Belfast and buy it, in the process saving money

Save

odlum833

Discussion Starter · #4 · Jun 12, 2009

Shoppers here traditionally have always bought furniture of high quality from various internal outlets. I will be interested to see how the flat pack furniture goes down with the crowd.

With sterling increasing in value on positive economic news across the water, and if that news is to be verified, this is not good news for retail units on the North of the border. The bubble is going to burst, it is just a matter of time so I hope the cash is being invested wisely.

Save

belfastuniguy

· #5 · Jun 12, 2009

Flat pack furniture sells in greater volume than 'traditional' ready assembled furniture Odlum. Unless the Republic is devoid of Argos, Homebase, B&Q as well as the native retailers that sell flat pack, which a lot do. Flat pack is not new to Ireland Odlum.

Doubt the bubble will be bursting any time soon, from what I see we're getting more Southern's up shopping, not less. Northern Ireland is also not in recession and our economic outlook is rather better than that of the Republic. Our government is in a much better position to help and the banks in the UK have already starting paying back billions from what they owe the taxpayer. Consumer and business confidence has returned and the housing market has stabilised and sales and prices have started to increase again.

You have again been knocked down a peg by S&P Credit Rating and that is not just hot air, that directly and immediately feeds into the amount of interest the Irish government is having to pay on its debts and the outlook is not rosy.

All very well people trying to be optimistic and whatever, but as I've previously mentioned, the raw economic data pisses all over that optimism I'm afraid.

See less See more

Save

belfastuniguy

· #6 · Jun 12, 2009

Ireland credit-rating cut for second time
Elizabeth Judge

Ireland had its credit rating cut for the second time in three months and was warned that it could fall further following concerns about the "continued fragility" of its banking sector and doubts about the Government's bailout plan.

Standard & Poor's (S&P) downgraded the long-term rating of the former "Celtic Tiger" by a further notch to AA, from AA+.

The Republic was stripped of its top AAA ranking in March when S&P concluded that the meltdown in the country's finances would take far longer to repair than the Government envisaged.

Today S&P warned: "The rating could be lowered again if asset quality in the Irish banking system deteriorates at a faster pace than we expect ... and if, as a result of its suport for the sector or due to an even more pronounced downturn in economic growth, the Government's fiscal performance weakens further than we currently assume."

The fresh downgrade was triggered, S&P said, in part by poor recent figures from Anglo Irish Bank.

In May, in its first results since nationalisation, Anglo reported losses of €4 billion (£3.4 billion) for the six months to March 21, compared with a €667 million profit in the same period last year while provisions for bad loans were €4.1 billion, compared with just €33 million last year.

The losses, S&P said, were at the upper end of its own expectations and highlighted the "continued fragility of the Irish banking sector".

S&P is also sceptical about the power of Ireland's new National Asset Management Agency (NAMA) to revive the fortunes of its banking sector. The agency is a "bad bank" which will take on the toxic debts of financial institutions.

The ratings agency considers NAMA's ability to meet its financial objectives is "uncertain because of the risk that cashflows from its assets could fall below its funding costs".

Overall, S&P concluded, the cost to the Government of bailiing out the banking sector will be "significantly higher than what we had expected when we last lowered the rating in March ... and consequently that the net general government debt burden will also be significantly higher over the medium term".

Ireland's economy has been savaged by the global economic downturn as well as a slumping property market, soaring unemployment and tumbling retail sales. In September, Ireland became the first eurozone country to fall into an official recession after it declared two successive quarters of negative economic growth.

Prior to the current downturn, the Irish economy had not experienced a recession since 1983 and enjoyed double-digit growth in the 1990s.

In a bid to salvage the situation the Irish Government has pumped €7 billion into its two top lenders, Allied Irish Bank and Bank of Ireland.

Rossa White, an analyst at Davy, the Irish brokers, said today's downgrade looked unduly negative. "Moody's still has us at triple A. I think S&P is quite negative on the (Government's) banking plan. I can't get up to the net government debt numbers they are talking about. "

He said the agency should have held-off any decision until the details of the NAMA were further fleshed out.

From The Times.

Save

odlum833

Discussion Starter · #7 · Jun 12, 2009

The amount Ireland is paying to borrow money is widely recognised as being inconsistent with the reality. Ireland is very unlikely to default on any of it's obligations. It remains a very rich country despite the problems in the economy and we are well capable of handling the situation on our own. I, and many others, don't agree with all policy to deal with the banking situation or the economy generally but at least action is being taken. Unemployment will peak next year at 15% according to the latest forcasts today and growth will return in 2010 Q1.

There is still some way to go, things won't be fixed over night, but the news today is that the economy has bottomed out and this is reflected in the public finances where the rate of deterioration has plateaued. Competitiveness is improving as more tax incentive measures are put into place and wage cuts are applied. Exports here will fall this year less then any other EU state - only by about 4% - it's 15% in the UK for example. The US economy should return to growth before the end of the year so I think there is every reason to be optimistic.

BTW there is a price war here now and inflation fell 5% last month alone. Stores from Meath northward are now charging sterling rates and people know about it as these prices are rolled out across the country. It is inconcievable that the volume of trade north of the border from southern shoppers would continue under these circumstances. Even atm it is only 4% of shoppers. The trouble is that as the price war here intensivies thousands of jobs will be at risk in places like Newry and along the border. Once that tap turns off what are you going to do then?

I would have exactly the same misgivings if the situation was reversed. I would not want a large chunk of our economic activity to be reliant on Northern shoppers. It's an unsustainable bubble.

See less See more

Save

belfastuniguy

· #8 · Jun 13, 2009

Actually the largest sector of wealth generation in Northern Ireland is the public sector. That's not of any concern at the minute. Private development and investment in NI is still continuing and the economy looks stable.

Prices may have been reduced close to the border, but that hasn't stopped the flow of shoppers to supermarkets and stores in Northern Ireland.

Your export are falling less than other countries because Ireland has never been a country that exports that much, hence typical export driven industry is going to have suffered more in those countries that do have a large export market such as Germany, Japan, China and the UK. So that comparison is flawed.

You seem to be under the flawed impression that economic stability in other countries will somehow directly attribute to Irish economic stability, while a less informed individual would easily make that assumption, the actuality is very different and it will de dependent on many complex issues, which I really do not have the time nor patience to go into right now.

You also seem to be under the false impression that the border towns are now wholly dependent on Southern shoppers, that is indeed false, while it has been a fantastic boost, those areas were already achieving economic growth before the shoppers starting coming. So a belief that price parity will end such growth shows an inherent lack of understanding of the local economy of those areas.

Prices are falling in the Republic, but there is now the very real possibility of a deflationary spiral, that is most certainly not good news. You are currently suffering the worst deflation since the 1930's and its not getting any better.

While I do enjoy this debates, there really is little point in me continuing when all I have as a reply is inaccurate posting based on nothing factual and simply based on what you think the case is.

Also....I would advise other replies be posted in the Economic Discussion Thread, that's the best place for them tbh.

See less See more

Save

odlum833

Discussion Starter · #9 · Jun 13, 2009

Ireland is the most open economy in the world so, yes, it absolutely does matter how other countries are doing.

I am well able to engage in an intricate economic debate but..... it's a bit late, and this is the wrong forum.

Suffice to say that jobs are at risk in border towns and further north aswell because there is an unsustainable bubble. There are alot of variables that will determine when the situation will reverse. Price falls in the Republic and a rise in the value of sterling is what's going to do it ultimately.

Take IKEA as a small example. How many customers is the Belfast store going to lose? Last I heard they were going to offer sterling prices.

Save

belfastuniguy

· #10 · Jun 13, 2009

Ireland is the most open economy in the world so, yes, it absolutely does matter how other countries are doing.

No.....its not. I have no idea where you pull such bullshit from. The most open economy in the world is actually Hong Kong, followed by Singapore and then Australia. So actually no, you're not really that well enabled to debate economics because you know **** all about the subject.

Save

odlum833

Discussion Starter · #11 · Jun 13, 2009 (Edited)

belfastuniguy said:
No.....its not. I have no idea where you pull such bullshit from. The most open economy in the world is actually Hong Kong, followed by Singapore and then Australia. So actually no, you're not really that well enabled to debate economics because you know **** all about the subject.

FAIL!

Source: Irish Times)By PETER MINOGUE
TOP 1000/OPINION:

TO PARAPHRASE Tip O'Neill, "all news is local". So it is understandable for Irish executives to be downbeat from a short-term concentration on the daily news diet of Irish redundancies, public finance deficit and uncertainty about the Irish banking system.

However, such a local concentration is self-defeating. As reflected in the markets of many of the Top 1,000 Companies listed here, Ireland is one of the most open economies in the world. Many of the top firms in the list are leaders in their markets - home and abroad.

Ireland's climb out of recession will be driven by three processes: strong Government action to correct public finances; measures to address toxic assets in the Irish banking system; and a recovery in global markets.

The supplementary Budget and the establishment of the National Asset Management Agency (Nama) indicate a willingness by the Government to take tough decisions. And anecdotal evidence from around the world suggests that the global economy may be starting to see prospects for an end to the recession - vital given Ireland's export-driven economy.

Leading Irish companies like CRH and Kerry Group continue to invest wisely and are among the 600 most trusted global companies, according to a recent survey. Irish-headquartered Primark is still outperforming the market and continues to open stores across Europe.

This comes on top of a statement by Intel that saw signs of a bottom in PC sales and a further vote of confidence in the Irish economy with a [euro]50 million investment in research and development (R&D) last March. Even the financial services market was encouraged by better-than-expected figures from Goldman Sachs, while Citigroup posted its first profit in six quarters.

General economic indicators from around the world are also showing some signs of optimism including UK and US housing data, US factory activity and UK retail sales. The Confederation of British Industry has forecast a slow recovery, starting from as soon as spring 2010. We have

never seen such a concerted move by governments and central banks to take action that will minimise the length and depth of a global recession.

And there are indications that this unprecedented global effort is starting to bear fruit. Prof David Miles, who is the chief UK economist for Morgan Stanley, said that there were reasons to be cautiously optimistic about the way the UK economy was heading. He said that measures such as VAT cuts and increased government spending had taken time to have an impact but had managed to get the UK economy pointed in the right direction.

It is estimated that the US has been in recession now for 18 months so it is not as if we are at the start of the process.

In recent weeks, there has been a marked slowdown in unemployment figures in the US. Some of the recent local news also indicated a slowdown in layoffs in Ireland.
At a time when companies are looking to cut costs and conserve cash it is tempting to delay investment in major capital projects and mergers and acquisitions. But a recent McKinsey study, The Crisis: Timing Strategic Moves, suggested that this approach "could be a recklessly cautious one". The study points out that in past recessions stock markets recovered from the trough quickly

and with cumulative returns over the two years that followed, of between 50 and 130 per cent. Technology will have a role to play in the global and Irish recovery.

The Government has rightly pointed to the importance of developing a smart economy. Companies and the public sector can use technology to cut costs and boost productivity.

The importance of increasing productivity was highlighted by former Irish Timeseconomics editor, the late Paul Tansey. In 2005, in a study to mark Microsoft's 20th anniversary in Ireland, he wrote perceptively that Ireland is an expensive country in absolute price terms, business costs have risen substantially and wage costs rival those in Ireland's principal trading partners.

One of the drivers of an Irish recovery will be increased productivity not only in the corporate

sector but also in the public sector as the Government aims to deliver value from the taxpayer's investment. There is some evidence that the public sector is adopting new technologies such as Agile Development to increase productivity and this will be an important part of public sector reform.

Perhaps the last words might be left to Paul Tansey, who wrote in his Microsoft report that "enhancing Total Factor Productivity requires an array of initiatives ranging from inducing technical change and encouraging the application and defusion of modern technologies to ensuring the adequacy of the economy's infrastructural base".

Peter Minogue is managing director of BearingPoint in Ireland

Originally published by PETER MINOGUE.

(c) 2009 Irish Times. Provided by ProQuest LLC. All rights Reserved.

You obviously disagree do you?

Belgium - January 28, 2009

– According to the KOF Index for 2009, Belgium is the world’s most globalized country. Belgium ended up with a score of 91.02 and shares its top place with Ireland, ahead of the Netherlands and Switzerland.

The KOF Index of Globalization is calculated by the Swiss federal technical institute EPFZ. The index measures the economic, social and political dimensions of globalization. It can be used to compare the changing extent of globalization across a large number of countries and over more than 30 years.

The index’s calculations are based on 24 variables, including the amount of direct foreign investments, the volume of mail exchanged with other countries, the trade in international books and even the number of IKEA stores. Data from 1970 to 2006 were investigated.

Belgium is already at its highest position since 2004. Currently, our country lies 5th in economic, 10th in social and 3rd in political globalization. Canada is the only non-European country in the overall index. The least globalized nations are Burundi (34.91), the Democratic Republic of Congo (30.52) and Myanmar (23.71). Around fifty countries are not listed.

The KOF Index of Globalization shows that globalization is still on the rise, driven by increased economic and political globalization, while social globalization has stagnated. (reported by De Morgen and De Standaard newspaper)

Now go stand in the corner:wave: And next time use evidence not from 2004 to back up your facts before you start mouthing off. Do you have anger management issues by any chance?

Save

belfastuniguy

· #12 · Jun 13, 2009

Oh my...

http://www.heritage.org/Index/

As I have stated on many occasions, I use the most up to date information.

Save

odlum833

Discussion Starter · #13 · Jun 13, 2009

http://www.heritage.org/Index/images/Index09_map.jpg

You should be pleased they included the North for Ireland

And that is why what happens in other countries matters to us.

Save

belfastuniguy

· #14 · Jun 13, 2009

That point doesn't bother me, simply inaccurate colouring, as the border is clearly noted.

Fact remains, as I stated, your statement was wholly false. Tends to be a pattern with you, in the economy thread you have still failed to counter any of my evidence based economic facts relating to Ireland and instead resorted to bullshit and mis-information.

Regardless, best we continue any further debate in the economy thread.

Save

odlum833

Discussion Starter · #15 · Jun 14, 2009

The border is not clearly noted and rightly so. Otherwise the north would probrably be red. Not a good advertisement. BTW I, unlike you, make a point of posting my sources - maybe it is time you stopped bullshitting? I have an article that states Ireland is top of the globalisation league and you are disputing that? lol - who are you like?

Save

belfastuniguy

· #16 · Jun 14, 2009 (Edited)

odlum833 said:
The border is not clearly noted and rightly so. Otherwise the north would probrably be red. Not a good advertisement. BTW I, unlike you, make a point of posting my sources - maybe it is time you stopped bullshitting? I have an article that states Ireland is top of the globalisation league and you are disputing that? lol - who are you like?

Link posted previously, which shows you're not and NEVER have been

Here it is again for you (2009)

http://www.heritage.org/Index/

Also...Members of the World Bank Group also use Index of Economic Freedom (linked above) as the indicator of investment climate, because it covers more aspects relevant to the private sector in wide number of countries - http://psdblog.worldbank.org/psdblog/2006/08/our_effectivene.html. This is the PDF File it links to. I've read it, I advise you to....all 358 pages

Then we can begin on your long path of education that will allow you to coherently and factually debate with me on economics. I've have nearly 7 years of economic education, so really your attempts thus far to rubbish my evidence based statements has been utterly pathetic.

http://lnweb90.worldbank.org/oed/oeddoclib.nsf/DocUNIDViewForJavaSearch/DE4527B2FDEC87928525717200799B96/$file/investment_climate_evaluation.pdf

The Irish Times article is correct in stating Ireland is ONE OF the top open economies (currently 4th), its not THE most open. For 14 years that has been Hong Kong.

Here's another which shows the years previous to 2009.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Index_of_Economic_Freedom_historical_rankings

Here's a third that AGAIN (shock) shows Hong Kong as holding the position as the most economically free.

http://www.cato.org/pubs/efw/map/index.php - Zoom in on Hong Kong.

Here's a fourth article for you (2008)

http://www.fraserinstitute.org/Commerce.Web/product_files/EconomicFreedomoftheWorld2008Ch3.pdf - Scroll to Hong Kong and look at the 'overall rank'

You really are such a troll and clearly incapable of competently debating economics with me, blinded my nationalism and bullshit. That's the saddest aspect of all this, when given proper evidence you simply disregard and spew more bullshit. Happened in the economy thread and happening here.

See less See more

Save

dave.irl

· #17 · Jun 14, 2009

Christ, I occasionally browse this site just to get some update on buildings, but this thread really is ridiculous. I actaully registered to to tell you both to STFU about this off topic crap.

odlum - from what I read here you really do enjoy winding up certain people and it this case you have been completely called on it. You should know how it works online. If you are going to claim something you better reference it properly.

See you said this "Ireland is the most open economy in the world", but then produced one source of data that said places Ireland as the second most globalised country, which I don't read to be the same thing. Since you are all being so specific on you wording we end up having to read this stupid arguement. If you had just initially corrected youself and said "one of the most" instead, other people would not have to read this drivel.

belfastuniguy - sometimes its best to call it a day on these debates for the greater good

Can someone close the thread please or relabel it or something - someone might actaully waste time clicking on the thread thinking they were going to find something out about ikea (like me)

See less See more

Save

odlum833

Discussion Starter · #18 · Jun 14, 2009 (Edited)

It was Belfastuniguy that hijacked this thread, not me, if you could be bothered re reading it. Did I mention economics AT ALL in the OP?

As for Belfastuniguy - I will say what the **** I like about the south and it's economy, thank you very much. It is the most open economy in the world and that is that. You want to disprove it go to the economics forum. Why would I want to be debating this on a thread about IKEA? It's Belfastuniguy to spoil yet another thread in here. It's clear to me you are not capable of debate with anyone because you act like a petulent child online most of the time. Throwing your sudors out of the pram when someone dares disprove what you have just said. If you do that no one will want to discuss anything with you. I have posted an article from Jun 2009 above - are you telling me they are wrong? You better email them and let them know. I did not claim the links he posted are wrong because he has not posted any links until now! As for your claim about being an economist or whatever - stop trolling and grow up.

See less See more

Save

plank007

· #19 · Jun 14, 2009

odlum833 said:
Shoppers here traditionally have always bought furniture of high quality from various internal outlets. I will be interested to see how the flat pack furniture goes down with the crowd.

With sterling increasing in value on positive economic news across the water, and if that news is to be verified, this is not good news for retail units on the North of the border. The bubble is going to burst, it is just a matter of time so I hope the cash is being invested wisely.

I'm sure it will go down a treat judging by the amount of Southerners that use the Belfast Ikea.

Save

belfastuniguy

· #20 · Jun 14, 2009

odlum833 said:
It was Belfastuniguy that hijacked this thread, not me, if you could be bothered re reading it. Did I mention economics AT ALL in the OP?

As for Belfastuniguy - I will say what the **** I like about the south and it's economy, thank you very much. It is the most open economy in the world and that is that. You want to disprove it go to the economics forum. Why would I want to be debating this on a thread about IKEA? It's Belfastuniguy to spoil yet another thread in here. It's clear to me you are not capable of debate with anyone because you act like a petulent child online most of the time. Throwing your sudors out of the pram when someone dares disprove what you have just said. If you do that no one will want to discuss anything with you. I have posted an article from Jun 2009 above - are you telling me they are wrong? You better email them and let them know. I did not claim the links he posted are wrong because he has not posted any links until now! As for your claim about being an economist or whatever - stop trolling and grow up.

Hilarious, so whatever you say is fact. Oh please, you're such a child. When faced with overwhelming evidence you simply cast it aside and claim your flawed opinion to be superior.

Delusional much?

Save

1 - 20 of 41 Posts

Status: Not open for further replies.

Top Contributors this Month