The government has been urged to introduce a legally binding mediation scheme to prevent high rents from collapsing in the struggling retail sector.
Retail Excellence chief executive Duncan Graham told an Oireachtas committee today: ‘All landlords should at least offer a two-month rent amnesty to commercial tenants.’
Failing that, Retail Excellence – which represents 2,000 retailers in Ireland – said a mediation program was needed.
Responding to Sinn Féin TD Louise O’Reilly, Mr Graham said it could be ‘something like the WRC [Workplace Relations Commission]”, operate on a temporary basis and issue legally binding decisions.
The Joint Committee for Enterprise, Commerce and Employment examines the challenges facing the retail sector following the coronavirus pandemic.
Mr Graham said that as revenues fell, retailers “spent a lot of money and time” to make their workplaces Covid safe.
“Confusing messaging” from the government about easing restrictions resulted in “huge spending on season-specific stocks” which had to be discounted, he told the committee.
There were 2,000 more commercial vacancies at the end of 2020 compared to the previous year, he noted.
The Irish operations of UK-based outlets, in particular, were already in a difficult position before the pandemic hit. “Covid-19 and the rent crisis have brought them to the brink,” Mr Graham said.
When an owner is available to sit down and talk, he said retailers typically take that opportunity. Malls are particularly difficult, he said, noting that in Blanchardstown there are many vacant units.
ECCO Shoes retail manager Keith Rogers said there were 31 empty units on Henry Street and 13 on Grafton Street.
Asking the committee to “give us a push”, he called for continued support through 2022 as the post-Covid landscape emerges.
Support for a recruitment drive would also help, he said, as would tax incentives for landlords to renovate commercial properties in city centres.
“Shopping is the number one pastime in Ireland – and will continue to be,” said Mr Rogers.
“We need to reinvent the sector,” the committee said
Deputy O’Reilly cited figures she had obtained from the Tánaiste’s office which revealed that in three years the WRC had recovered more than a million euros in unpaid wages in the sector, which, according to her, does not paint a positive picture. We need “decent jobs”, she said.
Macdara Doyle, Retail Sector Group Coordinator, Irish Congress of Trades Unions, said retail workers make up 19% of PUP recipients, a larger proportion than any other sector. He said we need to “turn bad jobs into good jobs and meaningful careers”, and “rebuild and reimagine the sector”.
As a first step, the ICTU would like joint labor committees to be re-established throughout the sector.
Mr Graham said “people have embraced multi-channel shopping”, which is good news for large companies that can invest in an online presence, but a challenge for smaller businesses. The government’s online retail scheme is oversubscribed and “a drop in the ocean”, he added.
Mandate general secretary Gerry Light warned that online shopping might not be “the phenomenon that people think it’s going to be”, and said it needed further scrutiny.
He agreed with Fine Gael TD Richard Bruton who said there was a need to develop a strategy for the whole sector, to address, not just the issues relating to Covid, but also those relating to change. climatic.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, Colm O’Rourke, owner of women’s clothing chain Choice Boutique, expressed concern over the commercial rent issue.
Mr. O’Rourke has eight stores across the country – and eight owners.
“The biggest outstanding concern is the issue between landlord and tenant,” he explained.
“We were on our own, so in our case, because we have eight stores, we have eight owners.
“When you’re up against a brick wall it’s very difficult to negotiate and it’s just not acceptable that over the last year when we’ve been closed for over 40 weeks we’re supposed to be paying 100% rent,” he said. mentioned.
However, Mr O’Rourke said he understands tenancy law requires tenants to pay in full.
“We need some form of government intervention on this particular issue,” he said.
Retail Excellence was also to tell the committee that the government needed more support for small online retailers.
“Online retail media totaled €11 million last year and is now expected to more than halve this year to €5 million,” Mr Graham said ahead of the hearing. .
He said it would be a blow to small businesses that depend on more support to keep trading.
Mr Graham also said he hoped restrictions on the hospitality industry would soon be lifted, particularly for cafes and cafes, which he said have a close relationship with the retail sector.
Additional reports Gill Stedman
