Irish retailers look forward to bumper Christmas

Irish retailers can look forward to a "bumper Christmas", with the economic recovery taking hold and consumer sentiment rising each month, the Retail Ireland conference heard.

Retail Ireland chairman Conor Whelan recalled the "devastation wrecked upon our sector".

He pointed to a decline in sales of 24 per cent and the closure of 3,500 retail businesses with the loss of 44,000 jobs.

“The economy is recovering faster than anticipated and consumer sentiment is rising all the time,” said Mr Whelan, who is also the managing director of Eason.

However, he cautioned that challenges for the sector remained, most notably upward-only rent reviews, which were putting many businesses under tremendous pressure.

Gerard O’Neill of consultancy firm Amárach Research said the “national mood is improving but not everyone is experiencing it.”

He said more consumers seemed relaxed about spending money which suggested “Christmas is going to be a bumper season”.

"The fortunes of Irish retailers are finally on the up," said the director of Retail Ireland Thomas Burke.

“Positive trends during the year and a budget that will put money back into the economy create a positive backdrop” to the Christmas period.