Sign up to The Irish Times Archive (1859 - 2008)My Account »

WITH MOST high streets and shopping centres still finding the going tough because of the fall off in consumer spending, a discount shopping village on the outskirts of Kildare town has achieved something of a recession miracle by attracting substantially more visitors and significantly higher spending.

Though the latest CSO Irish retail index figures are continuing to show a slippage in the volume and value of retail sales, Kildare Village is bucking the trend with double-digit growth in sales this year. Its promoters say that shoppers are taking advantage of the discounts at the fashion destination.