Re: Re: Roches Stores gone!

Well this is sad news, but I guess its inevitable given the growing international nature of the retail sector. Its a pity to see another indigenous company leave our high streets: they are the poorer for it.

What will become of these town prime pitches brings to mind something that I have been mulling over for a while. We are being constantly told the amount of big brands looking for space in Dublin city: Zara, H&M, John Lewis, GAP…any number of names are put forward. The reason they can’t find anywhere suitable is due to the lack of big store sites and the prevalence (especially in Grafton Street) of small units. So why have we not seen any major changes in the structure of the city centre. There have of course been some big changes – Jervis Centre and a revamped Ilac (although to me this remains the greatest waste of space in the city). Also we have new projects in the pipeline at South King Street and Arnotts (to be announced this month I think).

But why nothing more radical? Why do streets such as Liffey Street, Mary Street, Malborough St, North Earl Street and Talbot Street remain relatively untouched by this retail boom. And indeed why has OConnell Street not seen a marked upswing. I am not sure how this new spread of Henry Street into Parnell Street wil work out. The two latest projects, Ivy Building and corner of Kings Inn Street, are still empty.

Any thoughts on the future of retail in the city…or rather the ability of retail to dramatically alter the current structure of the city centre?