IT IS 10 p.m. on a wet Thursday evening and there is a constant stream of shoppers, through the recently-opened Spar convenience store on Dublin's Dame Street. The traditional's late-night purchases of cigarettes, sweets and soft drinks are now being supplemented by more exotic fare - cooked chicken portions, frozen foods and hot sausage rolls are all on offer.
Five years ago, it would been difficult to find any shop other than the local take-away open at this hour, especially one selling a range of products more usually associated with a supermarket. Yet this country, in common with Britain and the US, is, becoming besotted with the "convenience store", a regular one-stop quick-shop.
"There has been enormous growth in the Spar, Eight-to-Twelve and Centra bracket, although one of the most interesting aspects is the growth of the petrol stations as convenience stores," says Ben Pearson, retail partner with Douglas Newman Good. "The turnover of the average corner shop has fallen as a consequence.
Michael Campbell, director of RGDATA, the grocer's association agrees. "The bottom line is that if a convenience shop opens up it certainly does affect those in the area not as well equipped. It does cause casualties. We have every sympathy with non-convenience shops but we are looking at a trade which is evolving in response to the much stricter demands of consumers today."
Small traders now require a turnover of £5,000 per week to make a living where, only a few years ago, £3,000 would have been sufficient. Even if the opening of a convenience store only causes a 10 per cent reduction in turnover, it can be enough to close a small store. Despite the closure of smaller operators, the square footage of convenience stores has remained largely the same.
Increasingly, though, convenience stores are becoming a significant part of the shop trade, as well as part of a "total living" environment, sometimes utilising, the commercial lettings in the ground floors of apartment complexes and sharing frontage with video shops, pharmacies and launderettes.
Douglas Newman Good are agents for a number of commercial lettings of this type at the base of Dublin's large Patrick Street apartment development. "There are 140 or 150 apartments over those premises, so even if it's only those people shopping that's a large turnover," says Mr Pearson. "There was none of that type of living a couple of years ago."
"A convenience store is really for families where both parents are working or where they can't get time to shop at weekends," says David Greaves, national development manager for Spar Ireland Ltd. "Basically, it allows us to give easy access to what they want: ready meals, hot foods, deli. People have less time to cook now and they want their freedom."
According to Mr Greaves, growth in this area has been constant since 1987 and is frequently cent red on a younger customer base. "It's generally a younger customer profile," he says. "We feel that young people and `dinkys' (double income, no kids yet), is the market we are looking at.
Spar has 255 stores in Ireland and 60 convenience stores in Dublin alone. Last month, another Spar store opened in Westmoreland Street, in Dublin city centre, and two more are to open in South Richmond Street and the International Financial Services Centre. These stores have been franchised from the Eight-to-Twelve group, which has a number of similar properties in the city.
The number of garage forecourt shops has also increased dramatically - RGDATA estimates there are about 700 such outlets.
The movement towards convenience stores has forced changes in elements of the stores' interior design, with dry goods space supplanted by fresh foods, deli counters, frozen foods and, in Spar's case, specialised refrigerated pasta units, a food sector in which David Greaves says demand is "absolutely colossal". Equipping one of the larger convenience stores can require an investment of up to £250,000, with some stores covering as much as 2,000 square feet of floor space.
The Centra group has moved resolutely into the convenience market in recent months under its specialised Centra Quick-Stop banner. Four such stores are now in operation, three in Dublin and one in Dundalk, with a further 16 stores planned for this year. The emphasis is on urban centres for maximum turnover, with the company paying particular attention to the customer profiles in each area.
"It's very much part of city life," says Greg Cantillon, Centra's sales director. "We're talking about the inner city, apartments, smaller families and a move towards shopping four, five or six times per week, which takes you back to the concept of convenience. It's very much related to population, so we're not talking about rural Ireland."
The market continues to grow. Brian Carroll, manager of Spar's 24-hour store in Ranelagh, Dublin, says the store has already experienced a 12 per cent growth on last year's figures for the first weeks of the year. "We have a huge mix here. In the morning you'd have the old dears, then from 4 p.m. the business people start coming on their way home from work and the young college people start coming in after 8 p.m."
Although there is Quinnsworth and Dunnes Stores in nearby Rathmines, the convenience stores appear to be unaffected by the potential competition. According to Mr Carroll, business over Christmas was unaffected by both the Dunnes Stores strike and the company's Sunday opening. In other words, proximity and "convenience" are all.
Rents in Dublin city centre are about £25,000 per year for such premises, and with the additional costs of staff, equipment and the security associated with late-night or 24-hour opening, convenience store operations can be expensive - but the public's appetite for a quick shopping fix at any hour is likely to ensure continued success. As Spar's David Greaves puts it: "Being in the city centre is good for our business."
