Lululemon, Doc Martens or toy giant Lego: New brands in the running for Cork's St Patrick's St

As Spanish chain Mango is set to open, a deal is being finalized to let the former Dorothy Perkins/Evans store and a new tenant is being sought for the former Oasis premises

Former Oasis store at 48/49 St Patrick's Street is up for lease with Bannon Commercial for €250,000pa

The move to fill two big-name former women’s fashion stores in Cork City centre is gaining momentum with one close to finalizing a deal in further positive signs of recovery on the high street.

Hot on the heels of Spanish fashion retail chain Mango signing a 10-year lease on the long-vacant former Quills premises on St Patrick’s Street, a deal is advancing to secure a new tenant for the former Dorothy Perkins/Evans women’s clothing store. The 616 sq m four-storey premises has been shuttered since 2019, following the collapse of British businessman Philip Green’s Arcadia Group.

Deal being finalized to let former Dorothy Perkins store at 101 St Patrick's Street 

Also on the market is No 48-49 St Patrick’s Street, the former Oasis fashion outlet, which has operated as a reduced-price clothing store since Oasis went into liquidation at the start of the pandemic. The operator exited the three-storey 580 sq m premises last month and it’s on the market with James Quinlan of Bannon Commercial.

Both premises are owned by Irish Life.

Savills, who orchestrated the Mango deal, are joint agents with Bannon Commercial on the letting of the Dorothy Perkins store at No 101 main street.

Mr Quinlan said Dorothy Perkins is already under offer.

While he declined to be drawn on who the new tenants might be, there is speculation that some of the new names that have opened on Dublin’s Grafton Street might be in the mix as Cork is seen as “the next step”. These include established brands such as UK footwear retailers Doc Martens and Russell and Bromley, as well as Canadian leisurewear retail brand Lululemon and Danish toy giant Lego.

New Lego store on Dublin's Grafton Street

Mr Quinlan said some of the international brands that have opened recently in Dublin are “keen to find space in Cork”.

Bannon Commercial is looking for offers in excess of €250,000pa for Nos 48-49 St Patrick’s Street, with a similar rent sought for No 101.

The former Oasis store, on a prominent corner pitch, has c2,000 sq ft of trading space on the ground floor.

Dorothy Perkin has c3,230 sq ft of ground floor retail and another 2,745 sq ft of retail space on the first floor. The second and third floors consist of stores and staff quarters.

While the loss of Oasis and Dorothy Perkins reduced retail choices for women's fashion on main street, the arrival of Mango is a significant boost. And there have been other notable successes in finding new tenants in recent months.

Outdoor-wear specialists The North Face opened last October at No 39, while UK footwear brand Dune opened at No 38. Eason downsized from Nos 113-115 to the former Monsoon premises at Nos 35-36 St Patrick’s Street, but the bookseller/stationer’s former home is due to re-open at Easter as men’s outfitters, Flannels, owned by the Fraser Group. Gift shop Seasons of Ireland has taken a 10-year lease at No 79  the former Carphone Warehouse store and a deal is also being worked on to bring a new tenant to the former Porter newsagents on the corner of Marlboro Street/St Patrick’s Street.

New tenant in the pipeline at the Porter Newsagents store on the corner of main street and Marlboro Street Picture: Larry Cummins

The most significant deal however will be the one that seals the future of Debenhams, main street’s flaghip store, vacant for nearly three years.

Debenhams, vacant for nearly three years, is up for sale for €20m and has attracted a number of potential buyers

 For sale with Cushman & Wakefield for €20m, there are rumours of out-of-town interest. Cushman & Wakefield are fresh from the success of selling Douglas Village shopping centre to the Tom Coughlan-led property investment firm, Urban Green Private, for c €23m.

Douglas Village Shopping Centre has been sold by Cushman & Wakefield for c€23m to Tom Coughlan-led Urban Green Private

Peter O’Flynn and Karl Stewart of Cushman & Wakefield said there was  strong interest in the centre from the outset , which “highlights [that] there remains an underlying demand within the investment market for well-located retail assets in key locations like Cork”.

More information/Oasis: James Quinlan, Bannon Commercial [e-mail]; More info/Dorothy Perkins: [e-mail] or [e-mail]/[e-mail]