Competition an emerging concern for one in four businesses

While energy costs and overheads remain the top concerns for business owners, a new report shows that competition is an emerging issue for one in four companies.

The latest quarterly business monitor from InterTradeIreland, a cross-Border organisation that aims to support small businesses, has found that the overall trading environment is “becoming increasingly competitive” across the island of Ireland.

The survey of more than 750 business managers found that in the third quarter of this year 24 per cent of SMEs said that new entrants to the market present a challenge to their business, while 21 per cent were concerned about discounting by rivals.

Some 61 per cent of firms were in a stable position in the third quarter, while seven in 10 said they were profitable.

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However, the volume of businesses in growth mode has fallen from 36 per cent in quarter two to 29 per cent in the third quarter of 2023. The report noted that this slight drop, coupled with new issues emerging, “suggests that firms are increasingly aware of tighter market conditions”.

The main issues facing businesses remain energy bills and rising costs of overheads. However, both of these issues have dropped significantly in importance compared to the same period last year.

InterTradeIreland’s director of strategy Martin Robinson said that business owners were becoming focused on issues other than costs. “Without reading too much into one quarter of data it’s notable that new competitors is such an issue currently, when it has barely featured on the radar of most businesses previously,” he said, adding that firms could increase their competitiveness by investing in innovation and taking advantage of trade opportunities.

The survey also found that while one third of firms have adapted to the new trading conditions post-Brexit, 71 per cent of firms report that they do not yet have knowledge of the Windsor Framework requirements.

Mr Robinson said that it was “understandable” that business would wait to see how the new trade agreements would work in practice, but as the Windsor Framework was now starting to take effect “it’s an important time for individual firms to explore what it means for them”.

He highlighted that InterTradeIreland has a new cross-Border trade hub to provide resources for SMEs, and that small businesses would be “well placed to take advantage of the growing £10 billion (€11.45bn) cross-Border market”.