Cuts to staff hours and lower sales reflect the reality of the retail market in the Square Tallaght, Dublin, post-festive season.
By Samuel Adeleke
Business owners in the retail sector in Dublin are experiencing a decline in sales after the holiday season during the January and February slump, when trading activity slows to its lowest.
While statistics often focus on the economic impact of this period on business owners and the economy at large, TheCity spoke to retail staff, who are often the first to feel the effects.
Tasha Villisca, a full-time staff member at the Vero Moda clothing brand in the Square, Tallaght, who loves working in retail, described the period as being extremely quiet and slow.
“When I am here now, I feel like my day gets dragged, unlike during the peak period, where there is always something to do and people to help,” she said.
This situation has hit Tasha’s finances, despite putting in the work. “I got my pay-slip last week, and it is literally not making up for the work I put in here,” she said.
“I blame it on not getting enough work hours and people shopping online,” she said.
Keris Fonory works as a retail staff member with Naming it (a children’s clothing brand). “Due to the slump in business, the management had to cut down people’s hours; you can only work contracted hours,” said Fonory.
“I work with other girls who are in college, and they are struggling financially because they have fewer hours,” she said.
One worker from India, who did not wish to be named, said they were let go from their job in Pandora due to the slowdown in business. He has since managed to pick up with A&B Gadgets, “It is not only a bad time for retail businesses but also a bad time for part-time workers,” he said. “This affects me personally, as the hours I can work are reduced,” he said. From his experience, the retail market has become a “click and collect” model, where people just come in to pick up orders, thereby making the retail staff’s role obsolete.
Libby Deleon, a manager at Jack & Jones said, “In the next 5 years, I doubt if there will be any more jobs in retail shops because businesses have fallen into a full decline and people are buying stuff more online.”
Deleon also mentioned that with the slowdown in the retail business, a lot of small shops in this period lay off their staff, but at Jack and Jones, she said, “We try to make a system where we still try to make things work. Some are great, some are not.”
As a way to drive sales during the slowdown, some businesses resort to running sales. “We have reduction sales going on because we are looking to clear the whole winter stocks and build up for the summer stocks,” Steven Abergele, manager of Best at the Square Tallaght, said.
Speaking on the impact of this season on other staff, Steven said, “We only employ part-time staff, so it doesn’t affect us really much; but it does affect bigger brands.”
January and February mark the transition into the spring and summer season, and this can impact sales in outdoor gear. Gerald, manager at Trespass, a performance outdoor clothing brand, said that they are a weather-dependent shop.
Gerald mentioned that in the post-festive season, there is a slowdown in businesses because people are more careful with their money, and it affects everything, including staffing. “It’s like Irish people forget it’s going to rain and it’s going to be cold, so they come in and buy stuff,” he said.
There is hope that businesses will pick up in the summer period leading to the Easter season, and there will be more opportunities for staff to work more hours and earn more in the retail sector.
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