Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 7 July 2021

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation

Challenges Facing the Retail Sector: Discussion

Mr. Duncan Graham:

It is very varied. When we talk to our members we hear of examples where certain retailers have done deals in shopping centres and of other retailers that have been unable to do deals in the same shopping centre, so it is very dependent on the one-to-one relationship that retailer has with that centre or with that landlord. By and large, the issues being raised with us are more to do with the institutional landlords than they are with private landlords. Whenever you have an opportunity to get around a table with somebody local, by and large, that opportunity is being taken. It is not consistent but, by and large, it is happening that way. It is the shopping centres that seem to be causing the most difficulty with this. In Blanchardstown Shopping Centre, for example, you will see many empty units at first floor level, but equally, on Henry Street you will also see empty units, so it is extremely varied.