Brisk Christmas trading signifies a small towns fight-back

Fears for the future of retailing in the Border counties of the Republic due to the attractions of shopping in Northern Ireland have been laid to rest for the moment at least with stores in the different towns of Co. Cavan all reporting a buoyant Christmas trading. Initial indications show that new year sales locally are generating considerable activity and there are all the indications of a fight back by the smaller towns in the battle for customer sentiment. Chambers of Commerce and store owners themselves made a special effort to encourage people to shop local this Christmas with generous special offers, a wide array of festive give aways and a determined attempt to cut prices to the minimum. It paid off and in the week leading into Christmas the footfall on the streets of Cavan, Cootehill, Bailieboro and other local towns was quite evident as people reverted back to traditional practice thronging out the different shops in the hunt for bargains while at the same time welcoming the opportunity to engage with neighbours and friends in the pleasantries of the festive season. The snow and frost are also acknowledged to have played a part as people avoided making long unnecessary journeys when they could get what they were looking for in their own local town. The President of the Cavan Chamber, Eamon McDwyer said that the buoyancy of the Christmas trade in Cavan was evidence of the commercial strength of the county town in terms of the range of retail outlets and the variety of goods and services available. He said that traders made an extra special effort to give the customer value for money plus other factors such as relief that the budget wasn't as harsh as feared. This all helped to create a climate in which people felt that they could go on with life again. The Cavan Chamber President accepted that the weather did play a part in encouraging people to stay in their home areas. However, 'shop local' was now a core business philosophy particularly in the Border region and there would be an effort to keep the momentum going in the year ahead, he said. Cootehill businessman and chairman of the Town Council, Michael McCarey, confirmed that Cootehill fared out quite well, as had all of the other small towns. He accepted that the curtailment of travel because of the arctic conditions was a factor but it was also very true that people, once they realised that they could obtain all the brands and services right on their doorstep, then made the clear choice to shop local and protect local jobs. "There was a major campaign by all of the towns to shop local and it worked. Cootehill had different promos such as shopping vouchers and raffles for €100 in most shops. The Chamber has to be complemented because they put in a huge effort to marketing the town and it paid off with all traders participating in it. Smaller towns are fighting back in general," said Cllr. McCarey. President of the Cootehill Chamber, John Foy, confirmed the assessment of Michael McCarey that businesses in Cootehill had a good Christmas and he thanked all customers for their support this festive season. Mr. Foy was firmly of the view that the Chamber's shop local campaign did make a real difference, adding that a total of €5,000 was won by customers shopping in Cootehill over the Christmas. "We have invested in new lights; we had the Northern Sound roadcaster here. We are trying to get away from talking doom and gloom; the people definitely came into the town and gave us their support over Christmas and we appreciate it very much," said Mr. Foy. The Cootehill Chamber President thanked all those involved in the shop local campaign including the schools. He said that many customers publicly expressed their desire to support local businesses because they recognised that those businesses gave employment and paid tax to the State, which in turn paid for essential services. Bailieboro is also reported to have had an equally busy Christmas. Although not publicly confirmed the new Tesco superstore is understood to have substantially increased the influx of people to Bailieboro taking away shoppers from other multiples in the larger urban centres in the region. The task now is to draw that new increased footfall into the Main Street shopping area of Bailieboro. "We are reasonably happy," confided Aidan Clarke, chairman of Bailieboro Traders Association, when giving his summation of Bailieboro's trading performance this festive season. Happy that Bailieboro held its own in trading terms this Christmas, Mr. Clarke referred to the success of the Christmas draws that were ran in all stores and said that this type of promotion paid dividends in trading terms. The Traders' Association would be examining ways to continue the focus on shopping local in the new year ahead, he promised. Towns like Belturbet and Ballyconnell, which are poised right on the Border, have always to contend with Northern Ireland prices because of their immediate proximity to Enniskillen. However, there has been a determined effort in these Border towns to retain their customer base and local businesses in Ballyconnell, Belturbet, Swanlinbar and Ballinamore are heartened by what has happened for them this Christmas. James Masterson with Supervalu stores in Ballyconnell and Ballinamore and a Centra store in Belturbet is delighted with the Christmas performance not alone in his outlets but in all of the businesses in the towns concerned. "It was very, very good; very positive. We were very happy with Christmas on all fronts," he said. However, he pointed out that this new turnaround did not come by chance. "We really cut prices; we really offered value for money - we had very strong offers," he says. Mr. Masterson admitted that it had been a challenging year for business and with less money in the hands of the customer it was an anxious time for traders in the run up to Christmas. However, a determined effort was made to cut prices to the bone. It meant having to sell more product but it was heartening to see goods moving off the shelves - especially perishables. He thanked his customers for their loyalty throughout the year and going forward he did feel confident. "Stores like ours are part of the community - it is like a circle money spent locally goes back into the community in the form of jobs and support for community endeavour. We have 165 people employed in our three stores in Cavan and Leitrim", he said.