Mr. Stephen Sealey:

I am managing director of Brown Thomas which operates four department stores located in Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Galway and four BT2 stores, one located on the north side of the city, another on the south side of the city, one in Dundrum shopping centre and another in Blanchardstown shopping centre. As such, we have a fair method for taking the temperature in the retail sector in these locations.
I would like to speak about technology. It has made so many things easier for us. With our tablets and iPhones we now have access to the whole world of commerce. We can pay bills, move money around, book holidays and shop online. The point I am making is that technology has opened up alternative ways of doing things. It has opened up choice. We no longer need to go into town or the bank to shop or pay bills s we can now do this from the comfort of our sofas, on the bus, train, tram and so on. Most of the merchandise we sell in Brown Thomas can be purchased online from retailers in the United Kingdom, elsewhere in Europe or the United States. To state the obvious, customers who buy in our town and city stores are putting money back into the economy. Customers who buy online from overseas retailers are effectively siphoning money out of the economy.
My job is to make Brown Thomas a place where people want to shop, thereby sustaining the 2,000 jobs across our stores. The competition online is only going to get greater. Brown Thomas is increasing the amount of product it sells online. Our research shows that in five years 30% of what we sell through our stores will be sold online. To my mind, for towns and cities to survive, they must be an attractive choice for customers. Customers have choice and do not need to go into towns and cities. To my mind, to make our towns and cities attractive, they must, first, be safe - customers must feel relaxed and at ease - second, clean and free of odours, litter and graffiti; third, easily accessible, including by the customer's mode of choice, be it the car, bus, bicycle or on foot and, fourth, there must be easy and affordable parking. To my mind, our cities, particularly Dublin, do not satisfy these four essentials. Dublin city centre suffers from anti-social behaviour of all sorts. The Dublin Business Improvement District, BID, monitors finds of needles and other drug-taking paraphernalia, beggars and rough sleepers. I regret to say the city centre is a hot spot for this activity and we need to address it urgently. Clearly, it is a complex issue involving resource allocation and planning issues. However, unless these issues are addressed, the city centre will not be a destination of choice and will decline inexorably.
We need to address the issues within our control or that of the city councils. I read in today's edition of The Irish Times that Owen Keegan plans to introduce a new cycle land on the north side of the city. The article states: "...restricting the road space available to cars was essential as part of a sustainable transport system ... and it is not something that we have to apologise for". I have a couple of points to make. First, we know from our own research that customers who travel by car spend 30% more than those who travel by other means. It is not difficult to accept this because a person who wants to buy a heavy or valuable product will probably choose to travel by car. Second, delays or congestion will drive customers to other destinations. Shopping centres like the one in Dundrum provide a clean and safe environment, with easy access to parking. Data from our sales indicates that customers are voting with their feet. As I said, we operate in Dundrum and Blanchardstown shopping centres. Last year our store in Dundrum recorded a substantially higher growth rate than our store on Grafton Street. In fact, growth at the Dundrum store increased almost 12 times faster than at the store on Grafton Street. The rate of growth at the store in Blanchardstown was seven times faster than at the Grafton Street store. Data from our loyalty card system indicates that customers are choosing to shop where it is more convenient for them and that, increasingly, they are choosing to shop in the shopping centres.

I love cities and relish their variety. I love the one off little shops, the bars, cafés, galleries and restaurants for a quick bite to eat or a special occasion. I believe that if we can satisfy my four essentials, we will have a sound base on which to build business in our towns and cities. We must stay focused on making them places where people want to be, places that are safe and convenient.

I know I am on my own in making the following point. I am not asking for lower rates for Brown Thomas. I would like to receive better service for the rates I pay, but I am not asking for a reduction. However, I am asking for a reduction for small shops, the little one off traders who play a vital part in adding interest to the city centre. I do not ask for Brown Thomas because I know services have to be paid for. If I felt I got value for money and had a clean, safe and attractive city centre, I would be happy to pay rates because I would see the money go straight back on the bottom line.