Electricworld, the Belfast-based chain of electrical stores, has closed three large shops in Dublin at a time of intense competition between the major retailers.

The closure has come as a surprise, as the company - the biggest electrical retailer in Northern Ireland - had announced plans to open nine megastores in the Republic. It only managed to open four; one at Blanchardstown Retail Park, another at the Omni Park centre in Santry and a third at The Square in Tallaght. Each of these has between 13,000 and 15,000 sq ft and is rented at about £14 or £15 (#17.80#19) per sq ft. A fourth outlet at Galway Retail Park, trading as O'Connors and rented at around £250,000 (#317,430) per annum, is still operating.

Electricworld has sought the consent of some or all of the Dublin landlords to assign the leases to ESB Retail. If this materialises, it will allow the ESB to fulfil a long-standing ambition to open megastores in some of Dublin's leading shopping centres. Neither Electricworld nor the ESB returned phone calls.

The Electricworld operation in the Republic is bound to have been affected by the currency fluctuations over the past two years. However, industry sources also suggested that the Belfast company may have underestimated the strength of companies trading in the Republic such as Power City, ESB, DID, Dixons and Currys.

Electricworld is part of the Shopelectric chain, which had an annual turnover in recent years of more than £50 million sterling. The company has a strong presence on high streets in the North.