Tag Archives: Retail Excellence

ENNIS has once again claimed the title of ‘Ireland’s Friendliest Place’. The county capital scooped the award at the AIBMS Retail Excellence Awards ceremony at the Galmont Hotel last weekend which also saw Clare’s Wild Atlantic Optician win Optician of the Year. Ennis retail stores made a huge impression on the mystery shoppers in July of this year to secure the town a shortlisting for this award, along with Ashbourne and Moynalty in County Meath, Monaghan Town and Carrick-on-Shannon in County Leitrim. This was followed by a public vote which took place in October.   Mayor of Ennis Municipal District, Councillor Clare Colleran Molloy said, “This recognition is testament to all those retailers in the town who are committed to making Ennis a great place to visit and shop. I would also like to take the opportunity to thank everyone who took the time to vote for Ennis.” She added that this award follows other recent successes for the town with awards …

ENNIS is in the running to be named Ireland’s Friendliest Place for 2022. The people of Clare, and further afield, are being urged to show some love for Ennis by voting for the town to take the coveted overall title at this year’s Retail Excellence Awards. The county capital has made it to the top five, with Ennis now vying against Ashbourne, Carrick-on-Shannon, Monaghan and Moynalty to be named Ireland’s Friendliest Place. Voting for the awards will be accepted between now and October 17 at https://strawpoll.com/polls/YVyP2px1kgN. The winners of the awards will be named at a gala event in the Galmont, Dublin on November 12. A spokesperson for Retail Excellence has urged the public to have their say on which place should take the title. “Five of Ireland’s best and brightest towns have been nominated for our prestigious Friendliest Place award, but who deserves it most? We want to hear from residents and tourists alike all across the country. “Get …

THE Clare-based deputy head of Retail Excellence has described the government’s latest roadmap on the reopening of the economy and society as “frustrating,” and hit out at the lack specific detail and key targets. Award-winning retailer Jean McCabe said that the latest Living with Covid-19 plan, as outlined on Tuesday by Taoiseach Micheál Martin, was short on detail and difficult for people to buy into. “When you examine what was said, there was no reference or mention of the non-essential retail sector,” she said. “Everyone in business needs Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and the latest announcement is very lacking in terms of the data and the number of cases we need to be at before we’ll be able to open our doors. Everyone needs to see clear goals, that makes the plan more achievable and what we’ve heard this week is very frustrating and quite short-sighted.” Ms McCabe said that while her clothing retail business, Willow, is well established online, …

OVERWHELMING loyalty from Christmas shoppers has given retailers a badly-needed boost, as the sector braces for further restrictions. While non-essential outlets face another period of uncertainty as Covid cases rise, shop owners have thanked people for making a concerted effort to support them in the month of December. Tina Grogan from Bambino in Ennis said it was very apparent that people made a conscious decision to back local retailers. “It has been so touching and the support coming up to Christmas was phenomenal,” she said. “It was really obvious that people were making an effort to shop local and, after the year that’s been in it, it was almost overwhelming to see.” At the County Boutique, Gwen Culligan described the support as “unbelievable”. “We were just blown away by it,” said the former President of Ennis Chamber of Commerce. “We did brilliant business. Our customers came back to us and it was clear they were determined to give their support.” …

RETAILERS around the county are receiving visits from Gardaí to ensure compliance with Level 5 restrictions, amid controversy over which shops and products are deemed to be essential. Clare Gardaí have confirmed receiving a number of complaints about apparent breaches of the rules. Despite the government outlining 16 different categories of retail that can continue under the highest level of Covid-19 restrictions, confusion has arisen. Several members of the public have contacted The Champion to say that certain retail outlets appear to be open when they shouldn’t be. Similarly, many retailers who are deemed to be non-essential, have taken issue with the sale of clothing by supermarkets. Retail representative groups say members are angry and confused. “We’ve been asking the government to make all retail essential at this time of the year,” said CEO of Ennis-based Retail Excellence, Duncan Graham. “There was a palpable sense of shock when we moved to Level 5. People are very anxious, they’re very worried, …

THE wearing of face coverings become “part of the new normal” for shoppers in Ennis with most agreeing it makes them feel safer, according to CEO of Ennis Chamber Margaret O’Brien. On Monday regulations making face coverings mandatory in shops and other indoor public settings came into force. Similar to the regulations requiring people to wear masks on public transport, those in breach of the rules can be fined up to €2,500 or face six months imprisonment. Members of Ennis Chamber have welcomed the move, Ms O’Brien tells us. “Feedback from Ennis Chamber members is largely positive.  Staff in most shops were already wearing masks and have become used to them.” She continued, “So far there haven’t been any incidents reported of customers refusing to mask up, although some have needed to be reminded. Public sentiment has changed considerably in recent weeks around the wearing of facemasks, they have become part of the new normal. Most agree that the wearing of …

ENNIS based Retail Excellence has confirmed the appointment of Duncan Graham as Managing Director, taking over from David Fitzsimons. Originally from Nottingham Duncan has a wealth of experience in Irish retail since his arrival in Cork in 1996 where he spent two years running the Marks and Spencer store before relocating to Dublin. Since then he has worked with Brown Thomas as General Manager before becoming CEO of a ladieswear company. For the last nine years he has been responsible for the expansion of the Specsavers brand across Ireland, Scotland and Spain. Commenting on the appointment the Chairman of Retail Excellence and COO of Applegreen PLC, Joe Barrett, said: “We are delighted that Duncan has joined Retail Excellence at such a critical time for Irish retail and we wish him success in helping shape the industry for the future.”

Retail Excellence, Ireland’s largest retail representative body, has been admitted to the register of nominating bodies for Seanad Éireann elections. Retail Excellence, which operates from Ennis, can now select a candidate to contest the Seanad elections on the outside panel of the Industrial and Commercial Panel. Deputy CEO of Retail Excellence and former Senator Lorraine Higgins, said, “I am delighted to learn that Retail Excellence has been admitted to the register of nominating bodies to Seanad Éireann. As the largest retail representative body in Ireland with almost 2,000 members who operate in excess of 13,000 stores and employ over 130,000 staff we are honoured and delighted with this news. “This is a huge opportunity for our membership and retail in general and will help put the industry and it’s challenges on the national political agenda should our candidate be elected. “We now intend to invite political parties to put forward suitably qualified candidates which our board will vote on. The …