MACE in Ballintogher, Open or closed??

In The Sticks

Whats the story with the MACE shop in Ballintogher, passed by it a few times during the week and it's closed, I think..any ideas???

mountainy man

Is closed alright, went bust, lot of people boycotted them as they made an offer on the other shop and got to see the books saw the takings withdrew the offer and opened the new mace in competition.(allegedly) not illegal but very sneaky and devious. I hear they owe their suppliers loads .

Buford T Justice

Now that's a victory for the people. Just goes to show voting with your feet can actually work.

blackiebest

Hollow victory when you can buy bugger all in the tiny shop left in the village. Three shops and three pubs operated in this village in 1999, now there is 1 1/2 pubs and 1/2 a shop.

Indeed the Mace owner could have been more discreet in his dealings however the shop had very friendly staff, now unemployed, and a decent (ish) range of products.

The big mistake was buying the building at the height of the boom and probably imagining year on year growth in values and turnover.

Sad really IMO

UrbanSea

Was that the Mace on the right hand side?

blackiebest

Comming from Balygawley, yes

Buford T Justice

blackiebest wrote: »

Hollow victory when you can buy bugger all in the tiny shop left in the village. Three shops and three pubs operated in this village in 1999, now there is 1 1/2 pubs and 1/2 a shop.

Indeed the Mace owner could have been more discreet in his dealings however the shop had very friendly staff, now unemployed, and a decent (ish) range of products.

The big mistake was buying the building at the height of the boom and probably imagining year on year growth in values and turnover.

Sad really IMO

Fair point, but on a small scale it shows that communities will vote with their feet. Also, it serves bigger business right for thinking they can be cute hoors and just waltz into a town and take over the trade there.

For Forks Sake

Buford T Justice wrote: »

Also, it serves bigger business right for thinking they can be cute hoors and just waltz into a town and take over the trade there.

Aren't most Mace/Centra/Spars/whatever franchises, usually run by local(ish) retailers?

blackiebest

Buford T Justice wrote: »

Fair point, but on a small scale it shows that communities will vote with their feet. Also, it serves bigger business right for thinking they can be cute hoors and just waltz into a town and take over the trade there.

Yeah but the owner of the MACE is in his thirties with at least 2 young kids and I understand that life is very difficult in that house now. He is far from a 'big business'. As I stated earlier I think he could have been a little more discreet in his business affairs, especially when he first opened however I do not believe his business could have survived even if he had full 'local' support. I would imagine that with the overheads he had that he would have needed the building boom to contiue forever with loads of breakfast rolls pumped out every morning.

I take your point re voting with our feet. That is what 200,000 + (at least) will do over the next couple of years, but where does that leave our country? Ballintogher has NEVER been so poorly serviced as it is today, so I find it very hard to see anything positive about MACE closing.

Buford T Justice

blackiebest wrote: »

Yeah but the owner of the MACE is in his thirties with at least 2 young kids and I understand that life is very difficult in that house now. He is far from a 'big business'. As I stated earlier I think he could have been a little more discreet in his business affairs, especially when he first opened however I do not believe his business could have survived even if he had full 'local' support. I would imagine that with the overheads he had that he would have needed the building boom to contiue forever with loads of breakfast rolls pumped out every morning.

I take your point re voting with our feet. That is what 200,000 + (at least) will do over the next couple of years, but where does that leave our country? Ballintogher has NEVER been so poorly serviced as it is today, so I find it very hard to see anything positive about MACE closing.

I didn't mean it in a sense of a positive thing, I meant it in the sense that if you are a cute hoor and try and pull a fast one karma can come and kick you in the backside.

I wonder if someone else would be able to go in there in the same premises with a cheaper lease and try something?

Hiitsme

It must be near to impossible for smaller retailers to compete with the likes of Tesco/Lidl. Like most people, I have to shop on a budget and would have only ever bought the basics from this shop. It is a shame to see it closed and sad for the retailer and his family.

dardevle

Buford T Justice wrote: »

Now that's a victory for the people. Just goes to show voting with your feet can actually work.

thats some crock of shiit statement!... in one thread on here your all up in arms over the plight of the unemployed - and in this one you rejoice in the "victory" of a local business going to the wall, with nothing but hardship for staff and owners alike!....get a grip - karma does not recognise the anonymity of the internet.... it will bite you on the ass.




.....

Mint Sauce

Buford T Justice wrote: »

I wonder if someone else would be able to go in there in the same premises with a cheaper lease and try something?

I think the building might actully be for sale. Am sure I seen a sign up on it in the week.

WANTStoWORK

I happened to stop at that shop a few times when it was open. To me a shop of that size didn't quite fit into such a small village like Ballintogher considering there was a grocer there already, Having said that it is never a nice thing to see a shop close for any reason but it seems to be the norm this past while. hope things work out for that guy and his family