Limerick has ‘a way to go’ to attract top brands into city
THE BOSS of one of Limerick’s most prominent retailers says the city centre has “a way to go” in terms of attracting new retail.
Liam Dwan, who manages Brown Thomas in the heart of O’Connell Street, added that right now, “no brand in Europe, or America, or India or whatever” will look at the city centre the way it is at present.
He said in order to attract big name shops back to Limerick, people need to be living, working and spending their leisure time in the centre.
To this end, he’s called on council and government to step up their efforts to deliver urban accommodation.
“That will make people sit up and say – ‘I need a shop here’, because there are 5,000 or 6,000 people living here. We are still, to my mind, not doing enough to get people living over a building. Give people the means to be able to do these up and have them the way they want it. Then [auctioneer] Gordon Kearney will have no bother saying, ‘you need to be here’, and ‘we have the best rate in town’,” said Mr Dwan.
The businessman was speaking at a special 'First Tuesdays' event held in the Hunt Museum focusing on the future of the city centre.
It was organised by the Chamber, and businesswoman Julie Long, while Mr Kearney was also present.
Addressing city traders, Mr Dwan said: “We are only kidding ourselves if we think there is enough to come into the city centre from the countryside for.
“If you’re going to leave your car in the Kilmurry Lodge, for example, and get a bus in, there is not enough to come into,” he said.
The local Brown Thomas boss said traffic in the city remains a problem, adding: “We are a grid city. It should be easy to get around. But we haven’t given the thought to make people feel comfortable and safe.”
Although he admitted that if he was a young retailer, he would be “very slow" to open a new store in the city centre, he said Limerick does “have more to offer than we realise” and is “underestimated”.
“Get our shops right, and a bit of support to keep us clean and looking right, and I’d have great hope things will move,” Mr Dwan said.
He wants to see an increased garda presence on Limerick’s streets to make people feel safer in the urban area.
“We don't see a presence as much as they'd like to see on the street. People can sense that, can feel that. They'd see a fella pop up on a scooter beside them. They might be no harm whatsoever. We are used to it, we live and work here. But people who come in mightn’t be,” Mr Dwan said.
There were other suggestions from the floor, with some pointing out that because Limerick city’s business community is small relative to other areas, it means there can be co-ordinated efforts.
One idea posed by Sian Murray Cardoso, a Limerick Chamber skillnet administrator was a long-lunch, whereby all city centre workers are allowed an extended period of time to shop in the city centre.
“A lot of people work in the city centre. There is a lot of stuff they can do. They could be allowed out on a longer lunch once a month. If all the businesses get behind it, it could be a long Limerick lunch. Then they don't have to worry about coming back in at the weekend, and braving traffic,” she said.
Comment has been sought from Limerick City and County Council.