RN June07Contents ●
■ inside view
50 Years of Retail News This month, RETAIL NEWS is celebrating its 50th birthday. Imagine, half a century ago, in 1957, the very first issue of RETAIL NEWS arrived back, fresh from the printers, in what was then a very different grocery industry in Ireland. For example, there were little or no ‘selfservice’ stores when RETAIL NEWS began: instead, the grocer bought in bulk and weighed everything out into small brown paper bags for each customer. The five decades since RETAIL NEWS first appeared have seen massive changes within the Irish grocery sector, far too many to list here, and many changes in the magazine itself, not least the move from black & white to colour in the 1980s. RETAIL NEWS has been there throughout all the changes, momentous and minute, reporting from the front line on issues like the introduction of the controversial turnover tax in 1963, the collapse of H. Williams and the subsequent ban on below cost selling in 1987, the planning cap on superstore development in 1998, the introduction of the euro in 2002 and the repeal of the Groceries Order last year. RETAIL NEWS continues to be a one-stop shop for the Irish grocery trade, with the latest news, in-depth interviews, sectoral reports and special features on every aspect of running a grocery store, large or small, in 21st Century Ireland. To celebrate our 50th birthday, we look back over the last 50 years of retailing in Ireland (Page 16), together with some of the figures who were at the coalface of change in the industry, including former RGDATA Director General, Michael Campbell (Page 30), the great George Cooke Senior (Page 34), ADM Londis stalwart Joe Lane (Page 38) and the IGBF’s Tim Nolan (Page 42). However, we want you to celebrate our birthday with us, with the chance to win one of a range of amazing prizes in our fabulous 50th Birthday Competition (Page 52). I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the groups, suppliers, advertisers, editors, journalists, sales and production staff and everyone else who has, and continues to, contribute to the ongoing success story that is RETAIL NEWS. “Celebrating 50 years serving the Kathleen Belton, Editorial & Marketing Director.
Irish grocery trade.”
Managing Director: Fergus Farrell Editorial & Marketing Director: Kathleen Belton, email: kathleenbelton@tarapublishingco.com Editor: John Walshe
johnwalshe@tarapublishingco.com
Chief News Reporter: Pavel Barter
Wine Correspondent: Jean Smullen
Financial Correspondent: Carmel Linnane
Advertising Manager: Aaron Stewart
Advertising Executive: Caoimhe St. John
T A R A Published by: Tara Publishing Co. Ltd., Poolbeg House, 1/2 Poolbeg Street, Dublin 2. Tel: (01) 2413095. Fax: (01) 2413010. ISDN: 01 2413050 Web: www.retailnews.ie Email: retailnews@tarapublishingco.com Subscription to Retail News: €110 plus VAT Email: simone@tarapublishingco.com Origination by: Rooney Media Graphics
Printed by: Future Print
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