Retailers predict further drop in staff numbers as freeze puts dent in sales

WELL over half of retailers surveyed expect employee numbers to fall in the coming months with many saying business is down by a third due to the weather.

Two thirds also rate the prospects for their business over the three months as poor or very poor.

According to Retail Ireland just 3% of retailers expect employee numbers to increase in the next two months, while more than half expect the profitability of their businesses to drop by February.

A fifth expect a slight increase, which is slightly more positive than when retailers were last polled in September.

Overall the Retail Ireland survey found sentiment remains low and has dropped since the last survey.

Retail Ireland director Torlach Denihan said: “An already difficult situation has been made worse by the bad weather at the busiest time of year. Our members tell us that customer numbers and business is down by approximately one-third since the start of the recent period of bad weather. One other noteworthy trend is that shoppers are shopping locally and stocking up.”

Mr Denihan said the good news is that virtually all shops remain open and deliveries are getting through.

“With extended opening hours to facilitate the public, there is almost full availability of all products. Staff have made a magnificent effort to get to work, and we even had reports that in Letterkenny farmers have given retail workers lifts to work on tractors,” he said.

The survey also found that two-thirds (66%) of respondents rate the current performance of their own business as poor, 29% rate it as average and only 5% rate it as good. The findings are worse than the previous survey in September.

Just 3% of retailers are more confident about their business than they were three months ago and only 16% expect slightly more customers over the coming months.

“The retail sector continues to deal with a huge decline in sales and a very high cost base,” said Mr Denihan. “The amount of money retailers are taking in at the tills has fallen dramatically but rents, service charges, wages and commercial rates remain too high.

“Retailers have cut prices to survive, but more needs to be done. Government must take decisive action to get the Irish cost base back into line with the rest of Europe,” he added.