Clerys concession holders remove their stock

Emotions were running high as Clerys concession holders queued to retrieve their stock, worth an estimated €3 million, from the store today.

The stock had remained locked inside the building after the company operating the department store on Dublin’s O’Connell Street suddenly went into liquidation last Friday.

Business owners lined up in removal vans and cars along the street at the back of the store to wait for their turn to get their stock from the store.

Concession holders had an allocated time to arrive and were asked to be “as quick as possible” in removing their goods.

As rain poured down, racks of clothes were pulled out and goods, fixtures and fittings, from electricals to furniture, were carried out.

Security guards only left seconds between opening and closing the doors at all times.

A number of people passing by stopped and stood in the rain for many minutes to try and get one last glimpse inside Clerys as they knew it.

Heartbreaking

Coming out after hours of packing, one concession holder said it was heartbreaking to hear people crying downstairs in the store.

Cormac Lynch, who owns the Best of Irish Design with his wife Helen, said it was a tough day for everyone involved.

Mr Lynch struggled to hold back tears when asked what would happen the 10 staff who were employed at the business’s Clerys branch.

“Everything about this is just sad, so sad,” he said.

“When I think of the staff... I well up a little, it’s so hard. They’re family and friends. The last thing we want is to lay people off.”

Mr Lynch said they and a lot of other businesses in the Clerys store had invested substantial money and hard work into the building since the flood damage and temporary closure in 2013.

“This was our biggest outlet. Our business will suffer, but we’ll survive. We are fortunate to have two others,” he said.

“Some other concession holders inside there, this would be their sole livelihood.”

Mr Lynch said the first he and his wife heard of the closure was a phone call from one of their staff on Friday while they were on holiday.

‘Not expecting this’

“Everyone was expecting the store to change hands but we were not expecting this. The last time there was a changeover there were no disruptions,” he said.

“We’re all still in shock,” he said.

Clerys was sold by Boston-based Gordon Brothers to Natrium Ltd, which comprises Irish investment group D2 Private, and Cheyne Capital Management in the UK, with financing from Quadrant Real Estate Advisers.

OCS Operations Ltd, which ran the department store, was then placed into liquidation, resulting in the immediate closure of Clerys.

About 50 companies that operated concessions in Clerys are owed between €2 million and €3 million by the former owners.

Concession holders were due to receive their money on Monday, but no funds were paid.

Helen Lynch, co-owner of Best of Irish Design, said it was difficult to process all that has happened in the short space of time.

‘A sad time’

“It’s a tough day. It’s a sad time for everybody concerned,” she said.

“There’s quite a lot of money owed. We were told we had to wait two weeks until we know more about payments. I’ll be out of business in two weeks if I don’t get paid.”

Siptu said a petition calling for new owners Natrium Ltd to meet with the Clerys workers had collected about 5,000 signatures.

About 130 Clerys staff are out of work and 330 people employed by concession outlets in the store have uncertain futures.