Businesses that have closed and opened in Carlow

mcaul

Sometimes threads like these can cause some people to worry about their jobs, so here's a positive spin.

In the current climate general retail sales are down about 25% and margins have been reduced by about 5 points. In homewares, furniture, tiling and the like, the reduction is far worse.

However, it basically brings the market back to 2004 levels and good retail businesses are working to rearrange costs and product mix. the reasons why there will be very few additional closures are as follows -

1. Landlords are reducing rents. The average reduction seems to be about 30%. The option for a landlord is for shop to close and have no rent coming in at all. And if they did re-let the unit, it would be at a much lower level anyway.

2. Shops are changing opening hours. 30mins later, 15 min earlier, closing on sundays. It affects staff a small bit, but it can save a medium store 30k a year!

3. Reducing prices. Suppliers have reduced prices, sterling is still weak, so retail prices have come down. This will eventually bring customers back in. The stores that don't reduce the prices will suffer

4. Its widely accepted in the retail industry that we are at the bottom of this recession. It will stay at this level for another few months and pick up at the end of the year. So once costs have been contained to meet current turnover, the business will survive and prosper in years ahead.


Regarding DIY stores - Wodies & Atlantic & Telfords are all owned by Grafton gorup. Huge Irish based international company with good profits even in current market. B&Q owned by Kingfisher - again huge retail group. Homebase - Owned by Home Retail Group, also own Argos and partially Homestore & More. 4Home - as far as I know, is an independently owned franchise store with main franchise being Mitchelstown Co-op. Doyles / Homevalue - Independently owned.

Personally, I prefer to shop in Doyles / Homevalue / 4Home as these stores are locally owned and the money stays locally in Carlow.

Queen-Mise

thanks for that. Great info.

p.carlow

mcaul..

some very good points there. cant think of anything wrong with that post.

dont like doyles never have. i find doyles expencive. something are good.

iam guessin you work in retail.

margins wouldn't be in points. would be in %. a good bussiness needed to be at least 35%

SV

mcaul wrote: »

Hi P - I own the Special Days store, had a good Christmas & dreadful 1st 3 months like every other retailer. have deleted gourmet foods (too pricey in these times) and now am deleting crystal, home stuff, wines and other poor performing products. I've increased Yankee Candles & greeting cards and will be adding substantially to the party section and adding in some unusual stuff at the €5 - €10 price points once the space is cleared.

2 Part-timers are going as we have cut back on the hours, but both will be working for me in a new Yankee store opening in Dublin next month. (yep I'm crazy)

Regarding margins - old habit of mine from working with US companies % = points.

Great to hear mcaul, love to hear you'll be adding to the party selection as there's some great stuff there.

Do keep up all the poker stuff and the likes though.
Big fan of that and there's no other shop I can think of that sells the likes of it.

testicle

4Home Carlow are apparently closing this coming Sunday.

aynon

all i know is that ICI( people who bring you dulux and a few other big paints) have been refusing to deliver paint to them for several weeks, according a rep.

Villain

Yep closing down sale now on

aynon

my thoughts are with the people who work there's families....i hope 4homes redistribute them to another store like wexford or something....

road_high

testicle wrote: »

4Home Carlow are apparently closing this coming Sunday.

Damn. I'm not surprised though are you? I'd say the arrival of Homebase was the final nail in their coffin. Sad to hear all the same. I remember I went in there last Christmas to get a good quality rechargeable torch. They had nothing but cheap rubbishy ones. So naturally it was off to good old Doyles with me
That will be a big store to lie vacant. Plus all the other units beside Dunnes there also vacant. Hard to see it being filled?

road_high

They had one in Portlaoise as well that closed lately as well. Their Wexford store is over in Gorey. I can see a pattern emerging here, seem to be closing their Leinster stores.

aynon

well according to a very reliable source, port laoise was closed due to cost well within their control-
i.e. sending a courier to the far reaches for a €50 light

Queen-Mise

are they any good offers in their closing down sale :-) :-)

robfowler78

super-rush wrote: »

Yes my good friend John Reid had decided to relocate Empire Records from Portlaoise to Carlow. Welcome back John.

Hey Super rush would that be John Reid from Dublin originally used to run Goldn disc?. I think I know him as well I think I used to pal with him when I was younger.....

Morf

robfowler78 wrote: »

Hey Super rush would that be John Reid from Dublin originally used to run Goldn disc?. I think I know him as well I think I used to pal with him when I was younger.....

It's just a pity he's doing nothing different by stocking about 75% DVDs and 25% CDs i'd never buy.

Nead21

24 hour shop on dublin street is closed, not sure how long only saw it monday evening

shaymousse

There was a 24 hour shop on Dublin Street?

robfowler78

Morf wrote: »

It's just a pity he's doing nothing different by stocking about 75% DVDs and 25% CDs i'd never buy.

most music stores now have 75% dvd's what with MP3'S and online stores like Itunes. Even HMV and other big retailers are like that these day's.

DO'Carlo/Wex

Morf wrote: »

It's just a pity he's doing nothing different by stocking about 75% DVDs and 25% CDs i'd never buy.

Don't know how Empire or Top Twenty or Rainbow (saw writing on the wall & got out while going was good imo or did the landlord who owned shop get a more lucrative retailer? What's there now anyway? A kids clothes shop?) can keep or were kept going in the last few years.
Personaly, I buy most if not all my dvds online (E-Bay, Play mainly) & same with the odd bit of music.
I'd be strolling around Tesco & unless it was an old-ish film I had forgotten about or hadn't gotten around to getting & was ondly a fiver, I'd just make a note & buy it cheaper incl. delivery online.
I was in Empire a while back looking for System of a Down dvd & John (?) showed me on the computer what I was looking for but said it'd've to be ordered & would take whatever it took.
Went home & had it delivered within a week afaik.
Best of luck to Empire. Irealy mean it. They're gonna need it.

Stevecw

Empire or any music shop in the country are sadly at nothing these days.
CDs and DVDs of any artist/any movie/tv Series you can get them online for free!
Ok when it comes to tv shows and especially movies, it can take a bit of patience to wait for it to download....but easily beats paying a tenner or whatever it is to poor old John and so many others like him for a dvd
As for music...you can put together your fave singers album in a few mins, and get most of the albums videos too on Youtube so sadly i dont see where cd/dvd stores like Empire have a role anymore?

cashback

Stevecw wrote: »

Empire or any music shop in the country are sadly at nothing these days.
CDs and DVDs of any artist/any movie/tv Series you can get them online for free!
Ok when it comes to tv shows and especially movies, it can take a bit of patience to wait for it to download....but easily beats paying a tenner or whatever it is to poor old John and so many others like him for a dvd
As for music...you can put together your fave singers album in a few mins, and get most of the albums videos too on Youtube so sadly i dont see where cd/dvd stores like Empire have a role anymore?

Well I think they have a place and I'd rather buy an album by a band I liked and at least I have a physical copy and a digital copy then if I want. Plus sometimes it's nice to support a band by paying for their music, especially if they're not the kind that would pack out Croker.

That said i'm not sure if Empire have much of a future, seems like a poorer version of Golden discs and appears to be selling a lot of secondhand stuff that's not even labelled preowned.

DO'Carlo/Wex

cashback wrote: »

Well I think they have a place and I'd rather buy an album by a band I liked and at least I have a physical copy and a digital copy then if I want. Plus sometimes it's nice to support a band by paying for their music, especially if they're not the kind that would pack out Croker.

That said i'm not sure if Empire have much of a future, seems like a poorer version of Golden discs and appears to be selling a lot of secondhand stuff that's not even labelled preowned.

Wasn't aware of the second-hand issue as haven't been in it since ages much.
Your' argument re supporting a band who don't pack-out Croker is understandable. However, you can still do that online most anywhere these days. Sites like CdWow, CdUniverse, Play & E-Bay stock & deliver cds & dvds sometimes with no extra for p&p (Play for definite) & a quick-enough delivery too. And cheaper too naturally.

road_high

just passing wrote: »

yep new barbers , was in last weekend . nice lad from up north somewhere. charged me 12e .washed and sissor cut it . free wash barber reckons he washes every one . nice to have an irish bloke in barbers i was happy enough , my missus reckons it best cut iv had in ages . shops very nice inside , even got free cup coffee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! definatly try him again!

Where is this guy located? Sounds like a pleasant change from the usual extortion and bad service!

DO'Carlo/Wex

just passing wrote: »

yep new barbers , was in last weekend . nice lad from up north somewhere. charged me 12e .washed and sissor cut it . free wash barber reckons he washes every one . nice to have an irish bloke in barbers i was happy enough , my missus reckons it best cut iv had in ages . shops very nice inside , even got free cup coffee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! definatly try him again!

Maybe I'm missing something & this is leading on from a previous post on this thread but where is this new barbers?
Does Miley have to be worried & up his' game?

road_high

DO'Carlo/Wex wrote: »

Maybe I'm missing something & this is leading on from a previous post on this thread but where is this new barbers?
Does Miley have to be worried & up his' game?

I only ever used him once and it was like 4 or 5 years ago at least...I'd say one of the longest waits I ever had for a haircut! You know the way, the longer you wait the more inclined you are to stay . I presumed at the time his assistant was just on a break or something but it was just the owner working away. I thought it was quite poor tbh.
I didn't think he was anyhting special and premises quite run down really; wall paper hanging off the walls iirc?! Have never gone back.

DO'Carlo/Wex

mfitzy wrote: »

I only ever used him once and it was like 4 or 5 years ago at least...I'd say one of the longest waits I ever had for a haircut! You know the way, the longer you wait the more inclined you are to stay . I presumed at the time his assistant was just on a break or something but it was just the owner working away. I thought it was quite poor tbh.
I didn't think he was anyhting special and premises quite run down really; wall paper hanging off the walls iirc?! Have never gone back.

I can't really say anything bad against the man. I don't mind if there's 2-3 ahead of me or even the 4. Sure if I go off I tell him & if someone else has arrived in in meantime he bumps me in "ahead" of them. I presume he does this as a general rule?
Anyway, he has now got an assistant. A female barber if you will. Dare to be different.
Still want to find out where this new baber is.
And was the 24 Hour Shop the Newsagents in one of the units of where Royal Hotel was?

road_high

DO'Carlo/Wex wrote: »

I can't really say anything bad against the man. I don't mind if there's 2-3 ahead of me or even the 4. Sure if I go off I tell him & if someone else has arrived in in meantime he bumps me in "ahead" of them. I presume he does this as a general rule?
Anyway, he has now got an assistant. A female barber if you will. Dare to be different.
Still want to find out where this new baber is.
And was the 24 Hour Shop the Newsagents in one of the units of where Royal Hotel was?

Yes, I got the impression that day, rightly or wrongly that he has his "regulars" and these were the priority rather than getting through a large number. I could not understand why he was on his own considering he was busy and I think it was a Friday afternoon that time. No apology or explanation given for the long wait so never gone back since. Everyone's experience is different I guess!
Yea me too, I want this e12 wash and cut as well! :P

patrickc

I believe they're talking about the new one on Tullow street, somewhere near TSB, was mentioned here or in another thread I cant remember and havent the time to look back now.

just passing

mfitzy wrote: »

Where is this guy located? Sounds like a pleasant change from the usual extortion and bad service!

New barber is beside cafe roma and across from saucy undies shop

Nice spot, done the shop well

ShayK1

DO'Carlo/Wex wrote: »

And was the 24 Hour Shop the Newsagents in one of the units of where Royal Hotel was?

It was beside the butchers iirc. There's a yellow fronted empty unit there now and that's where it was.

Villain

Codds Mushrooms from Tullow/Grange was on the News yesterday, creating 120 Jobs I think it was