Published: Wednesday, 3rd March, 2010 3:55pm

Town's retail trade hit by closures of fashion outlets

The recession has dealt further blows to Athlone's retail trade with the closures of three fashion outlets.

The closures - combined with the announcement that Postbank, a large employer in the town, is to be wound down - meant that last week was one of the bleakest for local business since the economic downturn began.

Athlone Towncentre branches of Jack & Jones and Vero Moda were closed after the company behind the stores, Bestseller Retail (Ireland) Ltd, was granted interim examinership by the High Court on Friday.

However, there was a glimmer of hope for the employees of the two local stores yesterday as talks were held with Athlone Towncentre management regarding the possibility of their reopening.

Lucy O'Mahoney, the general manager of Bestseller Retail (Ireland) visited the Athlone Towncentre and was briefed by property management company Bannon Commercial on customer trends in the centre's catchment area.

Reopening the stores has not been ruled out by the company, but at the time of going to press a spokesperson said the position regarding their closure hadn't changed.

The Vero Moda branch at Athlone's Golden Island Shopping Centre was not among the closures announced last week and remains open for business.

In total, Bestseller Retail (Ireland) announced it would close 14 of its 36 Irish stores and would negotiate with landlords to secure "more realistic" rents for its other outlets.

Meanwhile, The Jean Scene, which operated a branch at the Golden Island Shopping Centre, has closed its Irish stores ahead of a creditors' meeting in Dublin this Friday, March 5.

The Jean Scene chain operated 30 Irish stores at its peak and is owned by brothers Raju and Sunny Tulli, who also have the Irish operations of Pizza Hut, KFC and Costa Coffee.

Return to: Homepage | News Index | This article