Trading at Carrolls Irish Gift for the year so far is positive and the company is looking at “just under 10 per cent of growth”, chief executive Peter Hyland has said.
Mr Hylan was speaking as Carrolls opened a new store on College Green in Dublin marking a €2 million investment and bringing 45 jobs to the city.
The company has seen a growth in the purchase of larger items in store such as wool jumpers and Mr Hyland said “people want something with value in it”. However, the Aer Lingus strike and the shortage of hotels has affected visitor numbers. “You would’ve felt the impact on the short-term traveller”, the chief executive said.
He said the economy was returning to a “normalised environment” whereby tourists are taking one big holiday instead of multiple mini-breaks.
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A tourism barometer report by Fáilte Ireland published in May 2024showed the differences between businesses in Dublin and the rest of the country.
Some 47 per cent of Dublin businesses reported more customers than the previous year but only 26 per cent of businesses outside of Dublin saw a rise in visitors.
The company’s retail market in Ireland is now “saturated”Hyland said, but Carrolls has seen growth in the US and Canadian markets through its online presence. It is in the process of expanding its online offering and is considering establishing stores abroad.
This is the company’s 21st store in Ireland and it has stores across Dublin, Belfast, Cork, Galway and Kilkenny., Last year, some 86 per cent of the company’s products were made locally.
[ Carrolls Irish Gifts signs for new flagship store at Dublin’s Central PlazaOpens in new window ]
The lease for the College Green premises was signed in March 2024, as previously reported in this paper. The new store will span across two floors and will serve as the company’s flagship store in Dublin.
The shop will have a “store-in-store concept” said Mr Hyland, where different companies, such as Guinness, partner with Carrolls to provide stock for the store.
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