SME / Local Business thread - just watching trends .. ( what will 2024 bring )

Central bank today

As you said @Furze99 - From last nights TonightVMTV .. Rebecca Feely - owner of the popular Dublin café Kale and Coco that closed last week – articulated exactly what small restaurant and café owners across up and down the country are feeling at the moment: they have not been offered enough support by the Government

Im sure majority of SMEs, Local businesses across the country regardless of what type of biz they are in feel similar

@Furze99 Related me thinks ..

"Taoiseach: Banks would 'think twice' about new mortgages if Dublin house prices lowered to €300k"

Im really not sure whats going on. All I can think of is the gov are driving the Irish economy in the direction of a high cost high wage Scandinavian type economy? And anyone or any biz who cannot keep up, well pretty much screw them, let them collapse. And this would answer the no support from gov .. deliberate policy to burn off the sme / local biz sector?

I agree I am quoting the cafe sector as an example while you are quoting building trade on the other end. The rest I would think at this stage are in the main hanging in there.

@Furze99 good on you, 100% .. long may it last

Im just trying to figure out whats happening. Thinking out loud ..

The Tung Sing ( Chinese ) Restaurant on patrick street, Cork City is closing after SIXTY YEARS OF Business in the city. This is sad news. Here is the message they added to there FaceBook page. Seems constant increasing costs and operating expenses is the reason for this closure

https://www.facebook.com/tungsingchinese/

"After 60 wonderful years trading and operating on Patrick street and serving the all the people of Cork with their favourite dishes, it is with great sadness and regret that we must make this post.

Due to the constantly increasing cost and operating expenses that we have incurred we are heartbroken to inform people that the Tung Sing on Patrick Street will close its doors for the last time tomorrow evening, Saturday 6th January.

We wish to express our heartfelt thanks and appreciation to all of our loyal customers and patrons who have supported us constantly during our time here and will forever cherish all the wonderful memories which all of you have created in the restaurant.

thank you to all our customers from all the staff and management

The Tung Sing, A Cork Tradition!"

The Tung Sing restaurant was an institution on the main street in Cork City for 60 years. They stated there closure was due to constant increasing costs and operating expenses NOT because people were not attending. This was a very very popular restaurant but you do reach a point that no matter how many turn up, the costs of service and food provision do not balance the books. As you hike prices to cover, people stop attending at some point. Add to this many peoples disposable income has been decimated in recent times so less going out and so on.

If you live in an alt world with loads of cash and all that then fair enough, but that not the case for majority of people

Delighted for you @enricoh .. long may it last. I am also ticking away. However, I do really notice a big tightening from biz clients now, less disposable from them and less disposable from there customers to them also. Lets say 2024 for SME land will be - interesting

Well known Cork Business going 86 years, closing .. not enough customers to survive.

The owner of one of Cork’s most famous barber shops has confirmed the business is up for sale.

Mick Moriarty, whose father established the Baldy Barber in Cork’s city centre more than 86 years ago, said he is selling it because it no longer has enough customers to survive.

While the pandemic played a role, so too did the operation of so-called “black market” hairdressers that emerged during the pandemic, Mr Moriarty said.