Dunnes Stores closure raises fears for local businesses on major Cork city street
A major shopping street in the centre of Cork city has suffered a major blow after Dunnes Stores announced they are to close their store on North Main Street by the end of the month, writes Kelly O’Brien of the Evening Echo.
There are fears that other businesses on the street will now suffer from reduced footfall, and the Cork Business Association has called for the fast-tracking of a “revitalisation plan” for North Main Street.
The store, in the North Main Street Shopping Centre, will shut on May 21.
Workers were officially briefed yesterday, and were reassured that there would be no job losses.
They will be redeployed to other stores.
Staff are being encouraged to name the store to which they would prefer to be redeployed, with management making “every effort” to accommodate these requests.
Trade union, SIPTU, which represents workers at the North Main Street store, said it heard about the closure from local media sources and they criticised Dunnes Stores for its lack of communication.
A SIPTU spokesperson said they were meeting with affected staff today and would seek to get as many as possible redeployed. For any who are not redeployed, the union said it would negotiate redundancy packages on their behalf.
A number of businesses on the street have shut up shop in recent months and years, including Roman House, Maher’s Sports and Aunt Nellie’s Sweet Shop, among others, and many locals have hailed it the death of North Main Street.
Yesterday, Molloy’s Footwear closed its doors for the final time. Just a few hours later, Dunnes Stores announced it would do the same on May 21.
Reacting to the news, the owner of a business that is also located in North Main Street Shopping Centre said their sales will suffer without the passing trade of people going to and from the supermarket.
“It will affect footfall massively, no question about that. That’s guaranteed. We’re very worried. Closing is a massive, massive worry and the whole future of the centre is at stake really. Without Dunnes, without an anchor tenant, the business might not be there. We need business. We need customers if we’re going to stay open.”
The trader, who asked not to be named for fear of disrupting ongoing talks within the complex, revealed that while Dunnes owns the unit it operates in, it is under contract with the shopping centre to either be open for business or sell up.
“But if they don’t sell up, for whatever reason, it would make life difficult for everyone. They own their unit so if they don’t sell up straight away the likelihood is that the unit will just remain vacant. That is the worry. I don’t think any of us would survive if that happens,” he said.
In another unit in the same shopping centre, two workers could be found debating whether or not their store would be open next month.
“It’s terrible. It’s just devastating. This will create a ripple effect throughout the shopping centre, definitely. It will affect everybody here,” said one woman. The old Cork is going. North Main Street is going. It’s sad, it’s very sad.”
Lawrence Owens, chief executive of the Cork Business Association, said he was saddened by the impending closure.
“This branch of Dunnes has been trading in this location for close to 70 years and their loss will be both a commercial and confidence blow to the area,” he said.
“The closure of a major retailer such as Dunnes will, of course, be sorely missed. not alone for the offer they provide but also for the footfall they attract and in the short term this is bound to impact on other local businesses.
"The only positive aspect to this story is that there will be no job losses and staff will be offered positions in other Dunnes branches. It is now incumbent on all stakeholders to redouble their efforts to work with the North Main Street traders to fast-track street revitalisation plans.”
