Arnotts must not be sold off at bargain basement price

28 July 2010

by Cllr Joe Costello

The news that Anglo Irish Bank is to take control of Arnotts department store will come as shock to customers and staff alike.

Arnotts has been an integral part of the retail landscape in the capital since 1843, and it would be unthinkable if this development led to a situation where the future of the store itself was in question.

Anglo, which is now owned by the State, must resist the temptation to offload Arnotts at a fire-sale price just to make some short term gain. It would seem that the company became overstretched thanks to its plans to develop the Northern Quarter. I raised reservations about those proposals at the time, and it seems that my concerns were well founded, but I believe the core business of the company - the city centre department store - has a profitable and viable future.

The closure of Arnotts would be catastrophic from the point of view of the retail sector, in the north city centre, as it is the flagship retail outlet in the area. I fear that it could lay waste to the entire O'Connell St, Henry St, Jervis St retail area, and could be a blow that could cause serious long-term damage.

Arnotts employs some 1,000 people, and its closure would be nothing short of disastrous. Many of the staff are recruited from the local communities in the North Inner City and very many of them are women. The loss of so many jobs in one fell swoop would have a devastating effect on employment in an area where unemployment is traditionally very high.

Anglo must now put in place a business plan that will first and foremost seek to secure the future of the department store, the jobs of those that work there and the jobs of people in surrounding businesses.