Religious book publisher and retailer Veritas has announced it intends to close its operations by the end of this year.
The publisher, which has several shops, including a book store on Abbey Street Lower in central Dublin, said the decision followed a significant downturn in business over recent years.
In a statement, Veritas said it had experienced financial difficulties as a result of a changing market and shifting “societal dynamics and evolving shopper habits”.
“The cumulative effect of significantly reduced trading income and higher costs mean that the business will not be able to generate sufficient revenues to continue operating into the future,” it said.
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Chris Queenan, chair of Veritas, said he envisaged all seven of its shops would close by the end of this year.
“This is a highly unfortunate situation which we are acutely aware will impact our employees, customers, and the communities we have served for close to 100 years. We are committed to an orderly wind-down process where our focus will be on supporting our colleagues during this challenging time,” he said.
“We would like to sincerely thank our colleagues, past and present, for their incredible contribution to the business over the years, and our customers for their enduring loyalty and support.”
In a statement, the organisation representing Catholic bishops said the closure of the publisher was a “great loss” to the church. The Irish Catholic Bishops Conference, which owns Veritas, said the shop and publisher had served its “publishing and catechetical needs” well for many years.
“We understand that Veritas has made this very difficult decision following a number of years of challenging trading conditions,” it said. “Today’s announcement brings especially sad news for Veritas employees as well as the many customers and friends of Veritas throughout the country and beyond,” the statement said.
Financial accounts for Veritas Communications CLG show it had assets of €2.4 million in 2022 after sustaining a loss of €224,000 that year. It employs around 80 staff across seven shops and a warehouse.
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