Limerick Businesses Closed V 2.0 [Mod note post 1]

Shn99

Debenhams to pull out of ireland, big loss for the city centre.https://www.rte.ie/news/business/2020/0409/1129586-debenhams-pulling-out-of-ireland/

Hande hoche!

Pity, they were good for staples and presents. Perhaps M&S will take over the property?

Shn99

Hande hoche! wrote: »

Pity, they were good for staples and presents. Perhaps M&S will take over the property?

Or perhaps their next door neighbour penneys

Cookiemunster

Hande hoche! wrote: »

Pity, they were good for staples and presents. Perhaps M&S will take over the property?

I doubt it. It's an old building with small floor plates that needs to be gutted internally to be brought up to modern standards. It always reminded me of being in Heatons rather than one of the top UK department stores.

Unfortunately there will be a lot of businesses that won't reopen after the lockdown is lifted. And the won't be unique to Limerick or Ireland.

Shn99 wrote: »

Or perhaps their next door neighbour penneys

That would seem more likely for the reasons I mentioned above.

Shn99

Cookiemunster wrote: »

I doubt it. It's an old building with small floor plates that needs to be gutted internally to be brought up to modern standards.

Unfortunately there will be a lot of businesses that won't reopen after the lockdown is lifted. And the won't be unique to Limerick or Ireland.

Was debenhams the only store in limerick that was already strapped for cash before the coronavirus crisis? Dont really be following that stuff only heard about debs the last few days

bigpink

Ideal for Penneys expansion

Mc Love

Shn99 wrote: »

Was debenhams the only store in limerick that was already strapped for cash before the coronavirus crisis? Dont really be following that stuff only heard about debs the last few days

BT are too

Poxyshamrock

Mc Love wrote: »

BT are too

Hearsay?

RocketRaccoon

There's a shop between penneys and Debenham so probably unlikely.

OfTheMarsWongs

Sad to hear about Debenhams. Suspected business may not have been great in December when the ‘Christmas gifts’ section on the top floor had a lot of stuff left Christmas week.

bennyl10

RocketRaccoon wrote: »

There's a shop between penneys and Debenham so probably unlikely.

isn't Gerard a part of Debenhams?

RocketRaccoon

bennyl10 wrote: »

isn't Gerard a part of Debenhams?

Oh, I didn't realise that.

JamesBond2010

Debenhams were in trouble for sometime anyway even before the virus.The virus just brought it foward

Shn99

Worrying times for the city centre. Are the council reducing the rates for premises?

Mc Love

Poxyshamrock wrote: »

Hearsay?

Nope

JamesBond2010

Cookiemunster wrote: »

I doubt it. It's an old building with small floor plates that needs to be gutted internally to be brought up to modern standards. It always reminded me of being in Heatons rather than one of the top UK department stores.

Unfortunately there will be a lot of businesses that won't reopen after the lockdown is lifted. And the won't be unique to Limerick or Ireland.



That would seem more likely for the reasons I mentioned above.

It's not that wheel chair friendly either ur right a good gutting is needed

mdmix

Shn99 wrote: »

Worrying times for the city centre. Are the council reducing the rates for premises?

Not sure about the rates, but supposedly the Roche’s still own all the stores so Debenhams are still renting off of them.

mart 23

Maybe Shaws could be interested in a city centre store.

bigpink

OfTheMarsWongs wrote: »

Sad to hear about Debenhams. Suspected business may not have been great in December when the ‘Christmas gifts’ section on the top floor had a lot of stuff left Christmas week.

Online or lack of spending power in Limerick?

Mc Love

mart 23 wrote: »

Maybe Shaws could be interested in a city centre store.

IIRC they own their unit in the Crescent so I'm not sure if they would move to the city center, or open another unit.

Poxyshamrock

Mc Love wrote: »

Nope

Where’s the proof then?

They’re paying their staff full wages while closed and have never been in the news for financial reasons.

In fact, Liam Dwane who is/was the manager of the Limerick store dispelled rumours years ago by saying they were doing quite well, hence the investment in the beauty hall and the addition of nespresso/cos.

I remember hearing in 2008 that Debenhams would be ‘closing after Christmas’ and the ‘staff were told’ so I wouldn’t always believe what you hear.

martingriff

Debenhams has been quoted to close a few times now I don't think (I know) it was not due to the virus

bazz26

Their parent company in the UK has been in trouble for along time but their Limerick branch was one of their better performers in Ireland which is why it was retained. The Corona virus unfortunately seems to have pushed them over the edge. And they only rented the property, it's still owned by the Roche family. I'd hate to see Penny's take it over as all they sell enough cheap tat as it is but having someone in there employing people is better than an empty unit. Cannot see anyone being in a rush to occupy it anytime soon though as this is only the beginning of the economic knock on effect of the pandemic.

bennyl10

RocketRaccoon wrote: »

Oh, I didn't realise that.

I’m not sure to clarify!
I just always have thought it was!

moby2101

Mc Love wrote: »

Nope

Hard to believe that. BT in Limerick which employs over 200 is quite profitable.

If it were to close tho' may as well pull the shutters down on Limerick City

Swiper the fox

It’s a shame that the jobs are gone but Debenhams was a terrible shop, it was like the 1980s in there

Cookiemunster

moby2101 wrote: »

Hard to believe that. BT in Limerick which employs over 200 is quite profitable.

If it were to close tho' may as well pull the shutters down on Limerick City

I can't see anything happening the Limerick store unless the whole Arnotts/BT group is in trouble.

dominatinMC

Cookiemunster wrote: »

I can't see anything happening the Limerick store unless the whole Arnotts/BT group is in trouble.

I'm no retail analyst, but my own experiences of BT (admittedly, mainly through my girlfriend) are that they offer something completely different from the majority of department stores. They sell themselves on the whole shopping "experience" and, for better or worse, a lot of people aspire to shop there. The BT shopping bag is almost a status symbol at this stage! Fair play to their marketing department, I guess. None of that can be replicated by online shopping, so I believe there will always be a market for the likes of BT and they should remain safe and sound. If they can afford to pay their staff wages during this, I would say they're not too badly off!

moby2101

Agree, Selfridges BT arnotts all part of the same company which is one of the most profitable chain of stores in Northern Europe. Owned by Weston group

Reputable Rog

moby2101 wrote: »

Hard to believe that. BT in Limerick which employs over 200 is quite profitable.

If it were to close tho' may as well pull the shutters down on Limerick City

Best performer in the group apparently. Serious money in the Limerick area, particularly in the County.