Help struggling retailers and save jobs by buying Irish this Christmas

MANY businesses are struggling at present, but particular sympathy should be reserved for retailers, particularly smaller independent and domestic ones who can’t depend on the support from profitable multi-national owners to protect them from the ravages of recession.

And as if greatly reduced consumer spending wasn’t enough for them to deal with, the migration of some shoppers to the internet, where they believe they can get cheaper prices, and often do, is making things even harder.

Add to that the combination of commercial rents that cannot be reduced as part of any move by retailers to compensate themselves by driving down their costs, high charges for services imposed by the state, such as rates, and banks that are less forgiving when it comes to the provision of necessary overdrafts that help smooth out cash flow issues. It is easy to understand why many smaller and medium-sized retailers have given up.