This article is from page 22 of the 2013-06-04 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 22 JPG
ONE Ennis businessman who has adapted to changing consumer trends says retailers must work together to develop a successful “culture of late opening” in Ennis.
David Woodford operated the wellknown Record Rack store in lower market street for 28 years. But with the decline in CD sales, he switched from music to tourist-based arts and crafts.
Mr Woodford told a meeting that the Irish Shop now regularly stays open to accommodate tourists returning to Ennis from day trips.
Speaking at a meeting in Ennis on Thursday night, he said businesses must “adapt” to customer needs.
He continued, “We need to give customers a broader timescale in which to shop. When it comes to choosing what nights to open late. Probably Tuesday is our best late night for shopping possibly with flights coming in and out of Shannon, that might be the case. My own feeling on it is that if we are to try this, and people may groan at this, I would suggest we try it every night.
“From a tourist’s perspective they don’t really come back into town ‘til around 5.30pm because they are out on daytrips. When they arrive back into town, the town is closing.”
Mr Woodford said Ennis could attract more shoppers if it developed a well-known “culture of late opening”.
He explained, “I’ve heard it said that for certain trades its not worth doing. For example, a hardware shop, they might not benefit from tourists. The fact of the matter is that we all need to do it together. If the town develops a culture of late opening and it becomes known that Ennis is open late, I think it’s only natural that the locals would start coming into town. We would all have to work together. People would also come in from the surrounding areas if they knew the town was open late.”
These sentiments were shared by Mike Buckley, a former President of Killarney Chamber of Commerce. Mr Buckley said Killarney worked hard over 20 years to become one of the busiest tourist towns in the country. He said co-operation between various business and volountary sectors and local authorities meant the town could effectively be “customised” to attract large business conferences or tourist groups. He said, “The whole town buys into it. That’s the secret. It creates a feel good factor and people will come back to Ennis.”