Bookseller calls for budget to be moved to February

THE Government should move future budgets to February to promote consumer confidence prior to Christmas, the most valuable retail window of the year, says one prominent business owner.

Derek Hughes is beginning to rebuild Hughes & Hughes, the Dublin-based book wholesale business which went into receivership in February 2010, yet another casualty of the economic “perfect storm” afflicting Ireland. In books for 26 years in all, prior to the crash Hughes had grown his father’s business to an annual turnover of €42m employing 220 people at its peak.

He recently bought back five of his original stores, along with the Hughes & Hughes name. At 6pm next Thursday in the Firgrove Hotel, Mitchelstown, Co Cork, he will be telling the inspirational tale of how he is overcoming failure and diversifying his business to compete in today’s challenging environment.

Mr Hughes is sharing an impressive double bill titled ‘The Way Forward’ with Java Republic founder David McKernan, who will talk about building a successful, ethical company, including Java’s dedication to Fair Trade.

Mr Hughes said: “Moving the Budget to after Christmas would give the Government a better feel for the VAT intake and GDP. They should look at moving it to the end of February. Having all these leaks, scaring people in the lead-up to Christmas is counter-productive.

“If you want to improve the revenue income from retail, then you need to look at the date of the budget. Traditionally, Christmas is a strong sales window. We need to encourage that. Thankfully, the weather looks like being mild this year after so many retailers were severely hit last winter, so the other biggest negative is the timing of the budget.”

Mr Hughes also encouraged the public service to take the lead by buying locally when it comes to deciding upon state tenders. Despite Government calls for Irish consumers to “shop for Ireland”, public sector tenders for hospital catering, security and other services are repeatedly, and embarrassingly, being lost by Irish companies primarily on the basis of price.

Mr Hughes said: “Tendering to the lowest price is a race to the bottom. There has to be some incentive to look at the bigger picture. The macro view needs to be taken on price tendering. Government bodies must look to spend locally. There needs to be a very strong reason when they don’t award the contracts to an Irish bidder.

“We need to support Irish business, and to look at leveraging public spending. The multiplier effect of doing business with Irish businesses is enormous. When that public spending is sucked out of the economy, the effect is equally enormous. It makes sense to support Irish at any time, and especially now.

“That is what we are doing with our business. When we spend with other Irish businesses, others see that, they spend too, and the bigger picture is that business starts coming back. A lot of people are going through a tough time in business at the moment. No matter how hard it gets, never give up. It is very important for business people to bounce back.”

The phoenix-like revival of Hughes & Hughes has been impressive. The chain is back to five stores, 60 jobs and climbing. The model has changed somewhat. The chain’s new owner is Sivota Ltd, a company set up by Pierce Moloney, owner of the newsagent chain Bus Stop. The buying strategy will be less centralised, with store managers having a much stronger role in stocking choices, ensuring a strong local flavour to each store. Andrew Waters will resume the central buying role he held before the company went into receivership. The response from suppliers has been very positive.

Mr Hughes is understandably upbeat: “The old line is true, it is not a failure to fall down, but it is a failure when you don’t try to get back up. Unfortunately, right now a lot of people are struggling. Things are okay for anyone working in the IT area.

“Export businesses are also fairly robust, but anyone in business who is depending on the domestic economy is finding life extremely challenging.

“Austerity sucks the life out of the economy. The critical thing is to get people back spending. That is a difficult message right now, but the money needs to start coming back around and the Government needs to play its part in making that happen.

“There are basically three types of people out there. Firstly, there are the people who simply don’t have the money to spend, namely those on low pay and the unemployed. Secondly, there is the group that has funds but is afraid to spend.

“Third is the group that has maintained some level of lifestyle because they are fortunate enough to be in the right industry or they have a secure job in the public sector. Spending is a tough message right now, but the Government and the public sector clearly have to take the lead.”