Virginia retailer takes on Reebok

A Virginia retailer is taking on the might of international sportswear brand Reebok and refusing to accept deliveries until his British supplier will give him the full value of the euro against the sterling on prices. Pat Moreland, the proprietor of Sports Connextions in the new Virginia Shopping Centre, says that consumers think that it"s retailers who are pocketing the difference but this is not necessarily the case. He told the Anglo Celt that if he were being offered the full value of the euro against sterling, he would be able to sell some runners in his shop for almost €20 per pair less than current prices. 'Until I get action on this very important issue and be allowed to pass on the lower prices to my customers, I will not be accepting any more orders. I am standing up to be counted in an earnest effort to get better value for the general public,' he added. Mr. Moreland recently turned away an order amounting to €3,500, which he had placed with a British company. He pointed out that this order, in view of the strong euro, should only cost around €2,600. The shop owner pays for Reebok stock in euros but claims he"s been charged far more than his UK counterparts across the border who can purchase in sterling more cheaply and, as such, afford to sell the same goods onto consumers at a lower price. A well known brand of ladies runners, which was approximately £16 sterling, was sold to him at almost €24. This, says Mr. Moreland in no way reflected the strength of the euro against sterling at that time, which almost reached parity over the festive season and was trading at 90 pence sterling yesterday (Tuesday). He was asked to pay €37.66 for gents runners, which were priced at £21.30 sterling. Consequently he had to sell them at €55. Pat explained that if he could have purchased them for around €23, he could sell them for about €36. Mr. Moreland said that he"s fed up of the situation and is taking a stand against this unfair practice of loading the price charged for Euro orders. He also pointed out that Irish retailers are already at a disadvantage when they add on a VAT rate of 21.5%, as opposed to the British rate of 15% without the issue of the sterling/euro differential. For full story, see page 4.