Dundrum Hughes & Hughes to close

Bookseller Hughes & Hughes has announced the closure of its Dundrum Town Centre branch, which was one of the biggest in the country when it first opened.

The store, located on two floors, opened in Octobe 2008 and was originally 12,000 square foot in size, though it has been drastically reduced.

The eight staff who are all facing redundancy without redeployment were told several days ago that the store would be closing.

However, the announcement was only made by Hughes and Hughes on its website today.

The notice stated that the closure was made with the "greatest regret" but all other H&H branches will remain open.

Loyalty cards and H&H gift vouchers will be honoured in all other branches.

The closure is a rare setback for the Dundrum Town Centre which has consistently bucked the trend since the recession.

A H&H source said the branch was affected by the fall off in sales which has hit book sales everywhere with many people now buying books online.

However, he also said that the shop's location, which is not in the main centre itself, was poor.

H&H went into receivership in February 2010 and was bought out by a company called Sivota Ltd which included the original founder of the chain Derek Hughes along with the two men behind the Bus Stop chain of newsagents, Aidan Masterson and Pierce Moloney.

H&H's other branches in St Stephens' Green, Santry, Swords and Ennis will remain open.