LOCAL SUPPORT KEEPS TILLS RINGING IN MITCHELSTOWN
The shop local message certainly seems to have rung a bell or two with shoppers in the Mitchelstown area over Christmas. More importantly, it kept the tills ringing as we face into a challenging 2009.
Val O’Gorman, proprietor of Mr Mister said that he was ‘happy enough’ with the Christmas trading.
“Things were nervous enough in early December but business really took off in the last week, or so,” he told The Avondhu.
“Predictably margins were down but the late surge was a huge help.”
Mr O’Gorman blamed the Dublin media for the constant barrage of doom and gloom. He feels that things are not as bad as portrayed.
“Interest rates and inflation are coming both coming down, so there are some positive aspects,” he said.
Sean Farrell of Farrell’s Centra Supermarket was delighted with the Christmas trade.
“We were up by over 30% on last year’s figures,” he told The Avondhu. “Part of that could be attributed to the introduction of the off licence but the improvement was also across the board.”
He said that the shop local message really seemed to be getting through and many people came back to leave their business in Mitchelstown. Karagh Fitzgibbon of Fitzgibbon’s Pharmacy told The Avondhu: “There seemed to be lack of confidence but there was a last minute rush that kept our figures up.”
“The continuous bad news is having an affect,” she concluded.
The general consensus seems to be that Mitchelstown fared better than expected given the present climate. Many traders are fearful of what the rest of 2009 will bring but all emphasised the importance of local people continuing to shop in Mitchelstown.
Published:
Thursday 8th January 5:39pm
