Carphone Warehouse decision deepens the crisis in Irish retail 

Changing way customers buy devices blamed for store closures

A woman looks through the door of a Carphone Warehouse store in Naas, Co Kildare, after the mobile communications company announced it is shutting all 81 of its Irish stores and outlets with the loss of almost 500 jobs. Picture: Niall Carson/PA

The crisis facing Ireland's retail sector has deepened following the announcement by Carphone Warehouse that it has closed all of its 81 retail stores in Ireland.

The company blamed the changing way customers buy mobile devices and reduction in footfall to their stores of more than 40%. As a result of the decision, there will be 486 redundancies.

A constant presence on Ireland's high streets and shopping centres since the late 1990s, the loss of Carphone Warehouse is a further blow for retail already reeling from the loss of Debenhams last year and the departure of Topshop owner Arcadia in December. This is in addition to numerous other smaller retailers who have shut down completely or reduced the number of units due to the impact of Covid-related lockdowns and restrictions.

A statement from Dixons Carphone said customers are changing the way they buy mobile devices, replacing their handsets less often and buying them separately or as part of more flexible bundles. They said sales of handsets has fallen 25% in the past 12 months. 

"Although these changes in behaviour were anticipated, they were expected to occur over a longer period of time," it said. 

However, the change in shopping behaviours has been accelerated by the pandemic."

The Carphone Warehouse stores to shut are made up of 69 standalone stores and 12 stores within a store. The company said it will continue to sell mobile handsets and accessories through its Currys PC World stores.

It also said it would go "well beyond" the company's obligations in financial and other support for the affected staff. Last year, Carphone Warehouse made a similar announcement shutting down all its UK stores.

Duncan Graham, managing director of Retail Excellence, said Carphone Warehouse’s decision reflects the crisis in the retail landscape at present.

"Hundreds of retailers around the country are similarly on the brink of closure due to their inability to trade over several months, and as such business and retail owners are making decisions now on their future viability," he said.

It is imperative that the Government now provides a clear and detailed roadmap to recovery for the retail industry which prioritises early and safe reopening.”

The Mandate trade union called for the urgent establishment of a retail task force looking into the future of retail as a matter of urgency. General secretary Gerry Light said the Government needs to understand that while it is procrastinating, hundreds of jobs are being lost.

“Today, there are hundreds of Carphone Warehouse workers wondering how they’re going to pay their bills. Those workers join the long list of workers who have lost their jobs in the last year, including Debenhams and Arcadia workers, and yet we have seen very little action in terms of legislation from Government," said Mr Light.

Most recent figures show that retail workers are among the top sectors in receipt of the pandemic unemployment payment, with 67,832 workers currently out of work due to the pandemic, only surpassed by hospitality and food workers.