H Williams was a supermarket chain in Ireland which originated as a grocer/tea importer that became a registered company in March 1894 with a listing on the Dublin Stock Exchange. [1]
In 1959 it opened the first supermarket in Ireland, in Dublin's Henry Street. [2] 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. [3] In the early 1980s it was sold to its managing director, John Quinn, and property developer Finbarr Holland. [4] In 1986 Tesco sold their Irish operation to H Williams for £17 million. [5]
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. [6] The former H Williams supermarkets were sold to other supermarket chains.
H Williams' head office was situated in Dundrum, Dublin.
H Williams' other Dublin supermarkets included ones located in Rathmines, Terenure, Tallaght (now a Lidl) and Killester. Outside Dublin, it had a supermarket in Mullingar [7] (the present-day Fairgreen Shopping Centre is located on its former site) and one in Tullamore (which was purchased, and is still operated, by Dunnes Stores).
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