H Williams was a supermarket chain in Ireland founded as a grocer in the late 19th century. 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.

References

  1. ↑ Oram, Hugh (July 24, 2017). "Gone shopping – An Irishman's Diary on Dublin's old grocery shops". Irish Times.
  2. ↑ "Quinn, John James". Dictionary of Irish Biography. February 2016.
  3. ↑ Groceries Order: Background
  4. ↑ "Future of Mullingar H. Williams Store". Westmeath Examiner. 1987-11-07. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-08-08 – via Irish Newspaper Archives.
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