Brexit a 'screaming nightmare' after Covid-19, Irish presses warn

Brexit means a “complete screaming nightmare” for an industry still reeling from coronavirus and The O'Brien Press in Ireland will not be printing anything for delivery in January, its m.d. has told the IPG autumn conference.

In a session on the Irish market, contributors said they were concerned about everything from stock management to shops going under and Amazon increasing its dominance once Brexit kicks in, with no sign of an EU deal so far.

Ivan O'Brien said: “I don't think people in Britain realised, and maybe still don't realise, how big a change this is. From an Irish perspective it's awful. It's really hard to find any upside at all, any positives.

"We are next to a neighbour whose currency is falling in value and will continue to fall in value. From a retailer's perspective, most of the books come from the sterling area so the perceived value is going to be an issue. That's going to increase the attraction of Amazon e.t.c. for the buyer in Ireland, making it harder for us Irish publishers to have our products seen because our product isn't seen on those channels in the way that it is with real Irish retailers.”

O'Brien said freight would also be a huge issue, with costs ramping up to get books across British territory, while getting printing done in the EU would also mean books travelling across two borders.

He said: “Any export that I do to anywhere else in the world tends to be consigned in Britain, so again [that will mean] a lot of extra cost, a lot of extra time for no return. It's a complete screaming nightmare, basically, and this is really not the time that we need this.”

O'Brien added: “We are not going to be printing anything for delivery in January next year. It's simply not worth the risk.”

Ruth Hallinan, production manager for The Lilliput Press, said distribution through the UK could also be affected and she was concerned other companies could go the way of Bertrams, which went into administration this year.

She said: “They referenced online sales and the rise of e-books as being factors in shutting down but you can only imagine that with Brexit there could be similar repercussions for other businesses. It's very hard to know and if that's the case would there be bookshops affected that would normally buy our stock? Would there be other repercussions on wholesale?"

Maria Dickenson wondered if the fallout would see more customers turning to Amazon as a cheaper option and said the biggest challenge for her company would be stock management.

She said: “It's a horrible challenge particularly on the back of the year that's gone. We'll be looking very much to our Irish partners and hoping that the products are there and it's going to be our bread and butter, certainly for the first few months while everything recalibrates in terms of the supply chain.”

Brexit comes on the heels of the coronavirus impact, with Dubray doing 20% of its usual level of business online during lockdown, although once shops reopened, suburban stores started doing well again. Ireland has just announced another six-week lockdown in a bid to get the virus infection rate under control.

The O'Brien Press has to rethink its acquisition choices because a large amount of its sales go to visitors in Ireland and there haven't been enough and won't be for some time, its m.d. said. Its list will be reviewed and cutbacks are needed on freelancers.

O'Brien added: “Everything changes. Everything is up for discussion in a way that it normally wouldn't be.”