Brown Thomas plans to invest in its Cork and Limerick stores

Luxury retailer intends to provide the in-store experience that shoppers crave, and plans to open a new store in Dundrum too

Launched at Brown Thomas Cork last summer, Canadian fitness clothing brand Lululemon is just one of the high-profile brands the luxury retailer's repertoire. Picture: Gerard McCarthy

Brown Thomas plans to invest “significantly” in Cork and Limerick as it opens a new outlet in Dundrum Town Centre.

The new €12m store located in Dundrum will employ 400 people, 170 of whom will be part-time and the rest full-time. The store will focus on the bricks-and-mortar retail experience.

“People are craving an experiential shopping experience and now with relaxed Covid restrictions we hope to go even further with retail theatre,” said managing director of Brown Thomas Arnotts Donald McDonald.

The chain also recently invested in its two Munster locations of Cork and Limerick. Last year, the chain introduced the popular Canadian fitness clothing brand Lululemon into its Cork store ahead of its store on Grafton Street in Dublin.

Brown Thomas Arnotts MD Donald McDonald says 'we hope to go even further with retail theatre' at its landmark stores in Dublin, Limerick, Galway, and Cork (above).  Picture: David Creedon/Anzenberger

“We have more significant investment plans for Cork over the next 12 to 18 months and indeed Limerick as well,” said Mr McDonald, hinting that there would be more shops introduced in the Munster locations.

“This store is our main focus at the moment,” he added about the latest Brown Thomas shop in Dundrum.

The 62,000 square foot store at Dundrum Town Centre is offering brands including Balmain, Loewe, and Givenchy. The activewear brand Sweaty Betty launched in-store as well.

The men’s section includes designer brands such as Moncler, Stone Island, BOSS and The North Face.

Brown Thomas worked exclusively with a cohort of Irish artists when designing this store, including Ciara O’Neill, who will be the first Brown Thomas Dundrum artist in residence.

Brown Thomas had a gross profit of almost €74m in the financial period ending on January 30, 2021.

This is compared to a gross profit of nearly €85m during the financial period ending in February 2020. From 2020 to 2021, the chain cut its staff costs as well from €38m to almost €35m. Gross profit for Brown Thomas in the pre-pandemic year 2019 was approximately €80m.

Mr McDonald said the lack of foreign shoppers due to travel restrictions did not impact the luxury retailer.

Since we opened on the 10th of May last year, we’ve seen an increase in business on 2019 levels, both in our physical stores and in our digital business.

Mr McDonald added that last Christmas was one of the best that Brown Thomas has had in terms of trade.

This aligns with consumer spending trends as there were 3m contactless payments valued at €53.8m per day in December 2021, up from 2.1m payments worth €36.5m a year earlier, a BPFI Payments Monitor Q4 report showed.