H Williams (supermarket)

H Williams was a supermarket chain in Ireland founded as a grocer in the late 19th century.^{[citation needed]}

In 1959 it opened the first supermarket in Ireland, in Dublin's Henry Street.^[1] Though publicly listed on the Dublin Stock Exchange for many years, the Quinn-McArdle family controlled its board and provided most of its senior management.^[2] In the early 1980s it was sold to a its managing director, John Quinn, and property developer Finbarr Holland.

H Williams collapsed in 1987, following a price war that led to the 1987 amendment to the Groceries Order in an effort to protect the market from further concentration.^[3] The former H Williams supermarkets were sold to other supermarket chains. H Williams' head office was situated in Dundrum, Dublin.

Other Dublin stores included ones located in Rathmines, Terenure, Tallaght (now a Lidl) and Killester. Outside Dublin, there was a store in Mullingar^[4] – the present-day Fairgreen Shopping Centre is located on its former site as well as a store in Tullamore which was purchased by and still operates as a Dunnes Stores.

References

This page was last edited on 15 May 2024, at 15:49