Retail environment
Wind of damage sweeps through Ireland
Ireland is facing a huge financial storm as the cost of Hurricane Ophelia could reach as high as €1billion.
A red alert was issued for the entire country late on Sunday October 15, leading to most retailers across Northern Ireland and the Republic shutting up shop for the following two days as damage was wreaked across north and south of the border. It is now estimated the cost of the clean up alone could reach hundreds of millions of euros, with further millions lost in income by businesses.
Experts say €28 million will be lost by grocery shops as stores around the country battened down the hatches for 24 hours. David Berry, director at Kantar Worldpanel, said: “We roughly estimate, assuming nearly all stores in Ireland shut for the day, the Irish market is set to lose €28 million in take-home groceries.”
Retail Excellence said the unexpected intensity of the storm will have a major impact on leading retailers in Ireland. Most major stores such as Dunnes Stores, Penneys and Arnotts closed for the day on Monday 16th as weather chiefs deemed it unsafe for travel to work.
Retail Excellence spokeswoman Lorraine Higgins, said: “The disruption caused to retail as a consequence of Ophelia will run into millions in terms of lost business, hours and physical damage to stores. “Many Irish retailers acted commendably by putting the physical safety of their staff first by closing their operations. “And they will spend the next few days counting the cost of the disruption to their business. “There were estimates of the overall cost hitting €700million but, given the unexpected intensity of the hurricane, it is likely that figure will be much higher. “However, some of the losses can be offset by the expected increase in online spend with many retailers hosting hurricane online discounts today.”
Head of public affairs at the Dublin Chambers of Commerce Graeme McQueen added yesterday: “There is a cost to business due to the storm but the priority is to ensure people are safe.” Asked how the storm will impact the retail industry financially, Mandate Assistant General Secretary Gerry Light said: “There’s no doubt this will have a considerable effect on the retail industry in Ireland. “Absolutely, we are talking about millions of euros, but even still nothing can justify jeopardising the safety of staff and customers.”
Mandate union were critical of Tesco Ireland for initially refusing to close all stores around the country, and raised concerns about whether staff in some stores were required to stay on and work behind closed doors once they shut.
Tesco was the last major retailer leaving stores open after the red alert was spread nationwide, and dozens of union members from the store contacted officials stating they were requested to attend work, including in stores in the South West.
