Tesco has a huge distribution centre in Ireland (just north of Dublin) so they should be able to source produce within the EU without difficulty. This may take a while if they have a lot of current contracts with UK suppliers.

I suspect Sterling devaluation will also help to keep UK suppliers competitive in future. So far disruption at Irish ports has been minimal, so I doubt their buying patterns have changed much. The paperwork shouldn't be a problem for the large chains with large back-office staffs. However the UK may have difficulty harvesting fresh produce this summer if they can't attract Romanian pickers as usual.

Price, quality and availability will be the main determinants of product sourcing, but the paperwork burden will be proportionately much higher for the smaller players. If the EU/UK political scene turns nasty, you could also have "Buy EU" Marketing campaigns getting traction. Ireland used to run "Buy Irish" campaigns prior to EU membership.

Tesco has always had a very British image and imagery and I can see nationalists, north and south, but particularly in the north, boycotting it. Lidl has been gaining market share in any case, as has Aldi in the south, but it hasn't opened any outlets in the North yet.

Index of Frank's Diaries