Bad news for Dublin shoppers

ben.schlomo

VincePP wrote: »

I'm in retail over 30 years and this doesn't surprise me and high rents is the least of their problems as to be worthwhile they should be looking for a minimum net profit of circa €10m on a €160m turnover - so with 7m loss they need a 17m move in figures.

Reasons it didn't work.

1 - Debenhams simply replicated their uk model here. No changes to appeal to local shoppers.

2 - Under 5m people, yet 11 stores. Too many to make it "different" or a must go to store, hence they fight with all the other middle stores.

3 - Concessions. Too many and they all seem to have too small a space and all merchandise their areas to their look. This leads to cluttered untidy unattractive stores.

4 - price. Irish consumers are far more price savvy than uk. So they notice when a store is expensive. For years Debenhams used a 1.6 conversion from stg to eur. Irish people are no fools - local independent stores were cheaper.

5 - The outcome. Probably 5-6 stores to close. Keep Henry St., Limerick, Cork city centre, Galway. Then possibly keep Blackrock, Mahon point & Newbridge. Close the rest. TK maxx Pennys and Marks and Spencer could be replacements.

Considering the 200m+ potential debt if it went into liquidation, it will be best to get to a deal.

M&S aint going to be opening any new stores here in the near future, especially not in regional towns. Aside from the long mooted Limerick store.

L1011

Yeah, M&S have already have some trouble here and are extremely unlikely to be expanding in any major manner.

They have adapted to the Irish market a lot more than other UK firms (having been here a hell of a lot longer - one of the longer established UK shops here having opened in the 70s; Tesco were here before but left entirely) but are suffering the same problems here as the UK, namely an ageing customer base and plummeting product quality.

Spanish Eyes

Shops are empty most of the time due to online shopping now. I find it depressing on the few occasions I venture in to the city to have a nosey.

Penneys is one exception, and I love it too. Come out with a basketful of stuff I neither wanted nor needed. But such is the life of a shopper in store!

VincePP

ben.schlomo wrote: »

M&S aint going to be opening any new stores here in the near future, especially not in regional towns. Aside from the long mooted Limerick store.

M&S have had a very good couple of years here and have exceded their sales targets especially on food.

They will look at the right store in the right location. They are not opening any more small format stores like Newbridge & Killarney.

If Debenhams decided to close Newbridge, M&S would look at expanding into that from their current small store. Similarly Waterford would also be of interest to M&S.

VincePP

Spanish Eyes wrote: »

Shops are empty most of the time due to online shopping now. I find it depressing on the few occasions I venture in to the city to have a nosey.

Excluding travel and music, online accounts for less than 6% of retail sales in the UK and less than that here.

That's comparable to catalogue shopping sales in the eighties & nineties.

If anything, there's a trend back to "physical shopping" where the shopping experience is an enjoyable one with the online store used to obtain infomation

Some people just don't like shopping (me included), but as a retailer (yes, ironic) with both online and retail stores, it the retail stores showing the growth this year.

BarryD

Puzzled, as Dublin shoppers are hardly stuck for choice, are they?

PhoenixParker

BarryD wrote: »

Puzzled, as Dublin shoppers are hardly stuck for choice, are they?

They can be since all the shops seem to stock pretty much the same stuff.
Even say Debenham's Henry St has concessions for Warehouse, Oasis etc. which have bigger shops with the same stock nearby.

Tbh Debenhams is just poor as a store. I don't bother with the Henry St one because it's not a patch on Arnott's. For presentation, prices and range Arnotts is a thousand times better.

I'm in Blanch quite a lot and it's the same thing there. The shop is poorly presented, feels like something out of the 90s. Their own brand stuff doesn't feel like great quality, there's little I want to try on, never mind buy. It should be one of the top stores I shop in in Blanch but I can't remember the last time I bought anything.

meeeeh

I must say I find both Debenhams and M&S drab and badly presented. I think I am kind of the age group that should find them appealing for certain things but they just make me feel old and dowdy. They really a shop that you go to when you need a pair of sensible knickers. Nothing to be excited about.

In general I am gone of a lot of British brands. I'm too old for Top Shop and there are only so many going out dresses one can get excited about.

KingBrian2

On a related topic what type of stores do you go to? Anyone go to Liffey Valley, Dundrum or IKEA. How are they holding up outside the city centre?

Spanish Eyes

KingBrian2 wrote: »

On a related topic what type of stores do you go to? Anyone go to Liffey Valley, Dundrum or IKEA. How are they holding up outside the city centre?

LV is the nearest to me. A bit of a drive, but ok so.

Anyway, it is always thronged. A lot of teenagers showing off their abs and tans. But I was a teenager once too!!

I wonder do folk buy anything there though, as the shops themselves seem to be sparsely filled with people. But anyway.

I do not like shopping centres at all, much prefer the city centre (or online) TBH. But each to their own. Anyway I go to LV because my Mum is disabled and it is so easy to get around and parking is ok for disabled too. And she likes it, so that is the my reason.....before anyone says I am a selfish B. LOL.

byhookorbycrook

Spanish Eyes, LV does the mobility scooters.Well worth it for your mam.

ben.schlomo

VincePP wrote: »

M&S have had a very good couple of years here and have exceded their sales targets especially on food.

They will look at the right store in the right location. They are not opening any more small format stores like Newbridge & Killarney.

If Debenhams decided to close Newbridge, M&S would look at expanding into that from their current small store. Similarly Waterford would also be of interest to M&S.

Food sales have remained quite good but GM sales have been very poor, not getting near plan for multiple years now. Unless you've better access to an inside track than I . Theres a reason they have been attempting to negotiate with unions for over two years now.

ben.schlomo

Spanish Eyes wrote: »

Shops are empty most of the time due to online shopping now. I find it depressing on the few occasions I venture in to the city to have a nosey.

Penneys is one exception, and I love it too. Come out with a basketful of stuff I neither wanted nor needed. But such is the life of a shopper in store!

Grand generalisation of the day.

KingBrian2

Best shop in the city for me is Easons. Stationary, books, pens, DVD's and even a ATM machine. What else could you ask for!:)

dudara

Posters - please stay on topic. If you're not adding to the conversation, please don't post.

dudara