Eason & Son
Encyclopedia
Eason & Son is a group involved in the wholesale, distribution and retail of books, newspapers, magazines, stationery and cards on the island of Ireland
(In both Northern Ireland
and the Republic of Ireland
).
The chain of 34 retail and 16 franchised Eason stores exist throughout the island of Ireland
. The company is headquartered in Dublin (with the Northern Ireland division headquartered in Belfast
) and employs over 1,800 staff. The company, which is privately owned, had a profit of €
9.7 million in 2003 on a turnover of €372 million. Recently, the company has moved into franchising, with a number of new retail units operating independently under the Eason banner. Most of these are located in shopping centres or smaller towns which do not already have an existing Eason shop. Conor Wheelan is Managing Director. The company's current slogan is "Whatever you're into, get into Eason", replacing the previous slogan "So many reasons to shop at Eason's".
Eason & Son: A History by L M Cullen. (438pp, 16 plates Dublin 1989.)
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
(In both Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
and the Republic of Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
).
The chain of 34 retail and 16 franchised Eason stores exist throughout the island of Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
. The company is headquartered in Dublin (with the Northern Ireland division headquartered in Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
) and employs over 1,800 staff. The company, which is privately owned, had a profit of €
Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
9.7 million in 2003 on a turnover of €372 million. Recently, the company has moved into franchising, with a number of new retail units operating independently under the Eason banner. Most of these are located in shopping centres or smaller towns which do not already have an existing Eason shop. Conor Wheelan is Managing Director. The company's current slogan is "Whatever you're into, get into Eason", replacing the previous slogan "So many reasons to shop at Eason's".
List of divisions, ownership of other companies and acquisitions
- Eason Retail Division - headquartered in an integrated book and stationery warehouse in St Margaret's, Swords, County Dublin since mid-2007.
- Eason Wholesale Stationery Division, previously based in Crumlin, Dublin 12 but now moved to St Margaret's, distributes Stationery and associated products to retail outlets throughout Ireland. Eason is the official distributor in Ireland for Club Stationery.
- Eason Wholesale Book Division - also moved to St Margaret's, north County Dublin. This division sells books in bulk to many shops.
- Eason's Advertising Services Limited - a niche advertising agency, one of the oldest agencies in the country and a wholly owned subsidiary, located in Dublin 1. Sole Irish affiliate of The ComVort Group and the Bernard Hodes Global Network.
- Reads - These stores, acquired in 2005, are primarily discount stores selling stationery, books and greetings cards. The two original Reads stores were on Nassau Street in Dublin 2, and a branch on Patrick street in Cork city (now closed). A former Eason store on Botanic Avenue in Belfast was converted to become a Reads outlet in 2006 (this closed in Mar 2008). The Reads store in Nassau Street has recently (Feb 08) expanded into the premises next door (formerly Blarney Woollen Mills), to create a new discount book store alongside its existing premises. The former Fred Hannas bookshop at the corner of Nassau Street and Dawson Street was also acquired by the company in 1999 but closed in early 2008, and merged with the Reads branch nearby.
- Hughes & Hughes Airport - in early 2010 Hughes & Hughes entered administration, with Eason acquiring their 7 airport stores.
- N.P.O. UK Ltd. (now all rebranded Eason) - These stores are operated under Eason and Son (N.I.) Ltd. NPO UK specialised in stationary, however after the Eason takeover, these stores stock the same range of products as all Eason stores.
- Eason Electronic - two South African Companies selling phone top-ups and pre-paid electricity cards.
- British Bookshops & Sussex Stationers outlets in south-east England - 52 retail book outlets. Now reduced to 39. In May 2009, Eason sold this company to Endless PLC. Endless intend to keep the "British Bookshops" name.
- Eason and Son (N.I.) Ltd - This division operates the chain of 15 stores in Northern Ireland (Including the ex-NPO stores).
- EM News Distribution - Eason merged its Irish newspaper and magazine wholesale distribution businesses with John MenziesJohn MenziesJohn Menzies plc is a Scottish business established in 1833. It has two main divisions: Menzies Distribution and Menzies Aviation. Menzies Distribution is a major distributor of newspapers and magazines throughout the United Kingdom...
creatingEM News DistributionEM News DistributionEM News Distribution is a magazine and newspaper distributor which operates in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. The company is a joint venture between Eason News Distribution and Menzies News Distribution and was formed in 2007 by the merger of their respective distribution...
. EM News DistributionEM News DistributionEM News Distribution is a magazine and newspaper distributor which operates in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. The company is a joint venture between Eason News Distribution and Menzies News Distribution and was formed in 2007 by the merger of their respective distribution...
competes with NewSpread and NewsSpeed. EM News delivers newspapers and magazines to newsagents in the Republic from a central hub in Clonshaugh, Co Dublin . Popular newspapers that EM News distribute include The Irish Daily MailIrish Daily MailThe Irish Daily Mail is a newspaper published in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland by Associated Newspapers. The paper was launched in February 2006 with a launch strategy that included giving away free copies on the first day of circulation and low pricing subsequently....
, The Daily MailDaily MailThe Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
, Daily ExpressDaily ExpressThe Daily Express switched from broadsheet to tabloid in 1977 and was bought by the construction company Trafalgar House in the same year. Its publishing company, Beaverbrook Newspapers, was renamed Express Newspapers...
, The GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
, The TimesThe TimesThe Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
, The Daily TelegraphThe Daily TelegraphThe Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
, The Sun, The Irish Sun and many others.
- Eason News Distribution Division (now merged into the EM News) - was based in Dublin and outside Cork City Newsbrothers. Newsbrothers , a subsidiary company of Eason, was responsible for newspaper and magazine distribution in the MunsterMunsterMunster is one of the Provinces of Ireland situated in the south of Ireland. In Ancient Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a "king of over-kings" . Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for administrative and judicial purposes...
region.
External links
Eason & Son: A History by L M Cullen. (438pp, 16 plates Dublin 1989.)