Tag: retail news

Aislinn Lea, Head of Fashion & Non-Food, Excel Recruitment

Excel’s Aislinn Lea- Retail is a career, not just a job

Posted on | by Aisling Rafferty

As the CAO and college places hit headlines again, head of Fashion & Non- Food Recruitment Aislinn Lea reflects on how retail can be overlooked as a career choice and why this is a mistake…

This past week has been a stressful time for many young people since learning their Leaving Cert results last Wednesday, followed by the anxious wait to see if they received a college place in Monday’s CAO offers. These 17/18/19-year-old will have many huge decisions to make in the next few days about the path they choose. Often in all the talk of opportunities in STEM subjects and the rise and fall of points, many people, regardless of age, overlook retail as an exciting and rewarding career path.

When I began my career in retail, I had no idea it would provide me with the opportunities and experiences that it has, eventually leading me to recruitment, working every day with fantastic clients and candidates, meeting new people and filling new and different roles every week. I couldn’t recommend retail more highly as an industry or a career path.

Progressive Careers

Retail Management is one of the most progressive careers in the market, an industry where the opportunities and careers available are ever-changing and as a result exciting, challenging and rewarding. The doors that are open to an enthusiastic candidate pursuing a career in retail are endless and include Management, Head Office, Buying, HR, Marketing, E-Tailing, Visual Management, the list goes on.

Not only that, but the vastness, variety and pace of the industry can provide anybody willing to work hard and learn with countless opportunities to meet new people, try new things, and see new places. Retail is an extremely fast-paced industry and is constantly innovating and evolving which provides anybody who wants to embrace new ideas and technologies, the opportunity to really make their mark and add real value to their employer, and their CV.

Those who see retail as a career and not just a job can open themselves up to a whole world of learning. There are many engaging, challenging and ever developing facets of the industry, both technically and commercially, so not only are there valuable life-skills to be gained there is also a huge depth of knowledge to be learned and countless career paths to potentially follow.

Inclusive Industry

Retail as an industry has become more savvy in terms of developing talent and employers are willing to invest more and more into their people through training, learning and development. There is a wealth of fantastic degrees, courses and Graduate Programmes available in retail, including any of the specialisms mentioned above.

Retail is a huge industry and is Ireland’s largest private-sector employer, employing over 282,000 workers across the country.An industry of this scale offers a wide range of opportunities and possibilities for all types of individuals and personalities from those with a natural gift for sales and customer engagement to others with a keen interest in data, tech, marketing or visuals

 

Retail News Roundup

Posted on | by Aisling Rafferty

Hotel Chocolat to open first Irish café

British chocolatier chain Hotel Chocolat has announced its plans to open its first ever Irish café. The brand will open an Irish branch in Dundrum Shop will be opening its first ever Irish café this October. According to Retail Times, the new venue will occupy a 102 square metre space in Dublin’s Dundrum shopping centre and will be offering customers a number of new cocoa-based beverages as well as the firm’s full range of exclusive chocolates. Commenting on the announcement, Simon Betty, director of retail for Ireland at the company that owns Dundrum shopping centre, Hammerson, asserted, “Hotel Chocolat is a perfect fit for Dundrum, where it will trade alongside other premium brands…Since taking ownership of Dundrum last year, we have worked to leverage our relationships with domestic and international brands in order to ensure an exciting and fresh retail mix, and this latest debut is a testament to the success of that strategy.”

Arnotts to get further €4m refresh

The Selfridges Group will invest €4m of fresh capital into Arnotts, the iconic Dublin department store. The capital will be used to enhance both the group’s store as well as its online presence and IT capabilities. There has already been significant work done to the store, which will continue over the next 12 to 24 months. The store has redesigned its interior layout, with its famous ‘Shoe Garden’ moving from the ground floor to the first in order to bring women’s footwear and clothing together. The store’s accessories and beauty halls will be refurbished and popular fashion brand Michael Kors will be added to the store’s offering. The store is working on an overhaul of its website, Arnotts.com, which will soon be relaunched following a substantial investment as well as a redesign.

Release date announced for Heidi Klum’s fashion line with Lidl

Supermodel Heidi Klum’s much-anticipated clothing line with supermarket Lidl has been given a release date. The line will be officially launched at New York Fashion Week on September 7th and will be available in 10,000 stores worldwide from September 21st. The collection will feature clothing, along with shoes and accessories. Prices said to be starting from €5.99 with Klum saying she wanted to “create fashion with a wow effect that is easy to combine and makes every woman look fantastic – and all at an unbeatable price.” The new collection is titled “Esmara by Heidi Klum: Heidi and the City” and both Klum and Lidl have shared teasers of the collection ahead of its fashion week launch.

Nikki Murran, Excel Recruitment's Director of Grocery Retail Recruitment

Excel’s Nikki Murran- ‘Booze curtains’ too big a burden for retailers

Posted on | by Aisling Rafferty

The Public Health (Alcohol) Bill has been a source of concern and unease for the retailers I meet and speak with every day, since its introduction to the Daíl in 2015. It has been an ongoing topic in the industry so I wanted to share my views.

It hit headlines again last week when Taoiseach Leo Varadkar reaffirmed his commitment to it, saying he is determined for the controversial bill (currently sitting in the Seanad) to become law before the end of the year. The Bill will see the introduction of minimum unit pricing on alcohol and will require alcohol to be separated from other products in shops behind so-called ‘booze curtains’.

At Excel Recruitment, we work with retailers across the country of all different sizes. All are operated by people who work daily to make a positive impact on their customers and wider communities. All are vitally important within their communities, not only because of their products but also through providing jobs, sponsoring community events and keeping town centres, large and small, alive and buzzing. Forcing these businesses to implement ‘booze curtains’ will place even more of a burden on people who are already battling the unknowns of Brexit as well as the ever increasing commercial rates.

Retailers are not arguing against a policy that improves public health, the opposition comes from the very real concern that these measures will not result in any actual improvements in the drinking behaviours of the small few at which they are targeted, but instead will force unreasonable costs and time investments on already overburdened retailers across the country.

The cost of these booze curtains’ may be the breaking point for some small or independent stores – and for something that holds no value to them or their customer. It is likely to move the alcohol sales across the country to the larger multinationals and Off-Licence stores – leaving the convenience sector with a drop in sales, a bill to foot for the ‘curtains’ and a hefty off-licence fee still to pay annually.

All the retailers we come into contact with, treat their responsibility when it comes to the sale of alcohol with the utmost seriousness. The solution to Ireland’s alcohol issue is not placing further pressure on people trying to earn a living and provide employment but in education from a young age and in encouraging a change in attitudes.

Retail is the country’s largest private sector employer and employs people in every town and village in Ireland. These jobs must be protected and retailers need to be given the support and resources to sustain, build and grow their businesses not left to fend for themselves against confused and confusing legislation.

 

 

retailers

Retailers say €200m in local authority rates lost due to inefficient collection

Posted on | by Aisling Rafferty

Retailers have called for a complete reform of the system local authorities use to collect rates.

According to Retail Ireland, the Ibec group representing retailers, more than €200 million is lost each year in local authority rates that go uncollected. The group say that a lack of consistency and clarity in how the charges are applied and collected is impacting Irish retail competitiveness and negatively affecting town centre renewal.

The group today launched a new policy paper ‘Tackling the Rates Burden’ in which they say there are ‘serious deficiencies’ in the current system governing how local authority rates are levied and collected, resulting in over €200 million in uncollected rates each year.

According to the policy paper, under the current system retailers who operate on a nationwide basis have to deal with 31 local authorities, most of which have radically different ways of operating. This makes business planning on a national level difficult and deters investment.

Retailers are also calling for a disassociation between rents and rates. Retailer say that linking the two charges has led to many retailers paying disproportionate costs as a result of upward-only rent reviews becoming increasingly common.

Retail Ireland have proposed that local and national government make the following changes in policy-

  1. Introduce a centralised collection process
  2. Stop linking rents to rates
  3. Reform the revaluation system
  4. Progress on local government reform
  5. Increase local property tax intake

Retail Ireland Director Thomas Burke said: “Local authority rates make up a significant portion of total input costs for Irish retailers. The current system is opaque, inconsistent, inefficient and expensive to operate.”

Mr Burke also said “Retailers have seen a significant increase in rates in recent years with very little return in terms of new service provision. This is of particular concern as retailers feel the pressure of rising costs across a range of other inputs such as labour, rent and utilities.”

 

Retail Excellence Ireland call for Government to introduce policies to protect retailers from Brexit

Posted on | by Aisling Rafferty

Retail Excellence Ireland call for Government to introduce policies to protect retailers from Brexit, including 3% cut in VAT

Retail Excellence Ireland has called on the Government to cut VAT by 3% in the next Budget. The retail lobby group, has said Ireland’s ‘regressive’ VAT rate of 23% should be reduced to safeguard Irish retailers from the effects of Brexit. The lobby group said the 23% rate should be cut in “in one fell swoop”. Retail Excellence have previously called for a reduction in the charge but in their latest submission say any incremental reduction would have minimal effect on consumer spending.

The submission from the group including a number of measures the group feel are necessary for the government to introducing in an effort to help retailers including-

  • Immediate and emergency legislation to immediately tackle rising insurance costs
  • The introduction of a business focused bank, similar to the UK’s Metro Bank. Half of Metro Bank’s balance sheet lending is targeted at SMEs.
  • Training and financial support for businesses to set up and grow their online presence and eCommerce capabilities
  • Increased Garda presence and resources to tackle retail crime
  • A renewed focus and energy on regional town and village renewal schemes
  • Prioritise infrastructural development to encourage more FDI

The group also call on the Government to intervene on the issue of spiralling rents faced by retailers with the abolition of all upward only rent review clauses to allow all commercial tenants to pay market rents. The group say this would support many retailers who are suffering penal and unsustainable rents due to upward only leases.

In their submission, Retail Ireland Excellence pointed to the importance of retail to the Irish economy. Irish retailers operate some 45,000 businesses and directly employ some 282,000 employees.

“As a direct consequence of retail activity, €5.7 billion is contributed to the exchequer on an annual basis. Therefore, the significant of retail must not be underestimated,” said Lorraine Higgins, a spokeswoman for the organisation.

nearly 20,000 jobs created

Nearly 20,000 jobs created in first three months of 2017

Posted on | by Aisling Rafferty

Nearly 20,000 jobs were created within the Irish economy in the first three months of 2017 as employment growth in Ireland continues to accelerate.

The latest Quarterly National Household Survey (QNHS) is considered the most accurate indicator of the state of the labour market and today shows there was an annual increase in employment of 3.5% or 68,600 in the first quarter of 2017. This brings total employment to 2.04 million, which is still below the State’s peak employment level, recorded as 2.16 million in the first quarter of 2008. Quarterly, employment grew by 19,300 in the first quarter of 2017, which was the fastest rate of growth recorded in nearly four years. This follows increases of 16,800 and 14,600 in the previous two quarters.

Employment increased in 11 of the 14 sectors reviewed as part of the survey. The largest rates of annual increase were recorded in the information and communication sector, which saw employment rise by 7,500 or 8.8% and the construction sector, where employment rose by 8.5% or 11,100. However, there were falls in employment in three sectors with the biggest decline coming in agriculture, forestry and fishing (-1,600), which one analyst linked to Brexit.

The QNHS showed there were 146,200 people classified as unemployed in the State in the first quarter of 2017, following an annual decrease 33,200 or 18.5%.Analysts are predicting unemployment will fall to below 6% before the end of the year.

As a result, the Republic’s headline rate of unemployment for April was put at 6.4 per cent, which represents a slight upward revision on the monthly series. Having had one of the highest rates of unemployment in Europe only a few years ago, the Republic’s Ireland’s unemployed rate now stands significantly below the euro area average of 9.5%, impressive considering the country had one of the highest rates of unemployment in Europe a few years ago.

Improving conditions in the labour market has turned the tide on emigration, which had been a feature of the early part of the financial crisis, with the most recent population figures indicating the State was now experiencing net inward migration.Employers’ group Ibec welcomed what it described as “exceptionally strong jobs numbers”, suggesting they were a sign of the strength and substance behind the State’s business model, while noting that the economy was weathering Brexit uncertainty “very well”.

Topaz announce €33million investment for 2017

Posted on | by Aisling Rafferty

Retail chain Topaz have announced they will invest €33million across 2017 which will create over 200 new jobs. The Irish petroleum retailer, owned by the Canadian Couche-Tard Group has a large presence across Ireland and have invested heavily over the last two years, with a particular emphasis on their Fresh Food offering and Re:Store roll-out.

Niall Anderton MD of Topaz and Jørn Madsen, Executive Vice-President, Central Eastern Europe and Ireland made the announcement at The Topaz Dealer Summit, where over 200 Topaz dealer were in attendance.

SuperValu Continue To Soar In Grocery Share

Posted on | by Aisling Rafferty

Market Share for the 12 weeks ending 14th August 2016.

The latest Grocery figures posted by Kantar Worldwide show exceptional growth across Irish Grocery Retail, for the 12 weeks ending 14th August 2016. The notable points from the quarter include:

 

  • Lidl’s market share has reached 11.9% – a new record high for the retailer, beating their previous high of 11.8%. In the past 12 weeks, Lidl have recruited 34,000 new shopper to their stores.
  • SuperValu are still Ireland’s favourite Supermarket with sales growth of 3.2%. An additional 15,000 consumers shopped with the retailer over the last 12 weeks, as they maintained their positioning as Ireland’s favourite supermarket for the 11th consecutive month.
  • Dunnes Stores posted the strongest growth figures for the quarter, with sales up 5.8% versus last year.
  • Price of groceries has increased slightly, with the average basket costing 2.7% more than this time last year.
  • Areas of particular growth include Vegetables, Fruit and Beer.

Dunnes Stores, Homebase and Harvey Norman – Retail Roundup

Posted on | by Aisling Rafferty

Dunnes Stores to buy Whelan Food and Meat

Dunne Stores to Buy WhelansDunnes Stores have eyed up another acquisition to add to their retail portfolio. The Irish retailer have proposed a deal to buy two meat wholesale businesses, Whelan Food & Meat Processors and Tipperary Sustainable Food Company. Both companies are under the control of Pat Whelan, owner and operator of Whelan’s Butchers who operate in the luxury Avoca Food stores.

Dunnes recently acquired Café Sol and plan on bringing expansion plan for the brand into place throughout 2016 and integrate some outlets in their bigger stores. The proposal was made to the Competition Authority this week to acquire Whelan’s and has entered the preliminary phase.

Wesfarmers buy Homebase

Australian home retail brand Wesfarmers have agreed to buy Homebase for £340 million and will invest £500 Homebasemillion transforming it into the Bunnings brand. The deal is still seeking approval from shareholders and if accepted would make Bunnings the second largest DIY and Garden Retailer in the UK and Ireland. Homebase, who have 265 stores have struggled in recent years against B&Q. Representatives from Wesfarmers’ said company analysts had studied the UK market for over a year, prior to the bid.

Homebase’s management team are to be replaced by Bunnings’ staff. However, it is understood Homebase’s current chief executive will stay in place. A statement from Wesfarmers’ it could ‘improve on Homebase’s store operations, cut prices, widen ranges, improve service, appeal more to tradesmen and do more online’.

Harvey Norman in Cork on sale for €8.2 million

Harvey Norman in Cork is on the market for €8.2 million through estate agents Savills. The store which is located on the Kinsale Road, is one of 12 stores across Ireland and produces a rent roll of €678,699 annually. The retail warehouse has another 9 years guaranteed under the current lease, with an upward only rent review due in 2020.

Harvey Norman

New Year Retail Round Up

Posted on | by Aisling Rafferty

Minimum Wage

National minimum wage has increased by .50 cent per hour. Since 1 July 2011, the national minimum wage for an experienced adult had been €8.65. This has now been increased to €9.15 per hour as the statutory minimum wage. There are a number of wage rates and stipulations with further elaboration and explanation available here.

money

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Glanbia to create 200 new jobs

Glanbia announced that they will hire 200 new staff in a variety of positions, with 90 of these based in Ireland. The dairy giant who have a number of locations nationwide also stated that they hope to attract Irish expats for a number of the domestic positions. Their statement read “Glanbia has delivered sustained growth by creating new nutritional products and solutions, and in doing so has become a world leader. ”To sustain our growth, we need exceptional people to join our team in Ireland, the US and indeed worldwide.” Browse job opportunities with Glanbia here.

glanbia

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SuperMacs to create 200 new jobs

Pat McDonagh, MD of SuperMacs announced plans to open six new restaurants in 2016, creating 200 new jobs and bringing their staff numbers just shy of 3,000. Their predominant attention will focus on motorway service stations on national roads. McDonagh noted that the upswing in the economy was a crucial factor, citing that “There’s increased employment out there and there’s a bit of confidence coming back into the market again.” Between 70-100 jobs will be at a new €8million ‘Galway Plaza’ restaurant which will reside along the busy commuter and tourist belt of the M6. You can visit the SuperMacs career page here.

Supermacs

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Cork get go-ahead for €50 million redevelopment

Cork’s Capitol Cinema has got the go-ahead to undergo a drastic €50million redevelopment bringing 1,000 new jobs on board once complete. Approximations suggest it will bring €21million to Exchequer revenue and will hopefully completed by the end of 2016. The site which is being developed by JCD Group will include retail space, office space and food areas. Full story here.

corkkkk

Source of Image: Jakuzaa