Is Athlone difficult for retailers to trade in?

holyhead

I was reading posts about shops closing in Athlone and it brought to mind a conversation I had with a retail area manager in Athlone. He also works in other towns in Leinster and for his employer. He said he has never comes across the misery and begrudgery like there is in Athlone. He was telling me they want quality but don't want to pay for it. They want discount off anything they buy some even name their price. He has had experiences where people have made a show of themselves in pursuit of money off items. As a manager he has these situations redirected to him by retail assistants. He was telling me their is a high turnover of retail outlets in Athlone compared to other towns in which they have stores. He was saying that many prefer to shop in Galway and Dublin in preference to their local town. Is this the experience of other retailers or is this chap's employer's just unlucky. This guy loves retail but dreads his days in Athlone. He says its like pulling teeth getting money out of them. He told me its been like this even during the Tiger years but obviously it has got worse with the onset of the recession.

Zubeneschamali

Chain stores expect to put a sticker price on things and for people to pay it, or not. It's more common outside urban areas for people to haggle and bargain.

ressem

Zubeneschamali wrote: »

Chain stores expect to put a sticker price on things and for people to pay it, or not. It's more common outside urban areas for people to haggle and bargain.

I'd disagree with the 'outside urban' and say that it's a peculiarity of Ireland in the last decade for people not to haggle on medium to high cost purchases /salespeople not having to work and compromise for their money, as customers didn't bother walking away.

Chainstores just try to make it more of a hassle by not granting floor staff the authority to negotiate.

It's expected that we will haggle with Dell computers or Ford garages. If retailers have lost the run of themselves and don't see it as worthwhile bargaining on goods under 100 quid then their loss.
Having not taking a hard line on negotiating rent relative to footfall is what's closing Athlone retailers. Maybe the managers should avail of some free practice on the shopfloor.

veryangryman

A few points in no particular order...

1) Its not stingy for a customer to haggle. All you have to do is say no and the person moves on. Any house or car you ever bought im sure you didnt just say "Ill take it" when they quoted you a price. Im sure you wouldnt be so high and mighty if they offered a tip for instance.
2) Athlone TownCentre, as many will tell you, should never have opened. It is far too big for a town this size, especially with Galway/Liffey Valley now so handy to get to (Galway even covers those of us without wheels with proximity of bus/rail station to shops)
3) Related to the last one, alot of people in Athlone aint particularly rich. Most shops in ATC are quite upmarket and while thats great for the odd treat etc, theres just not enough demand or affordability for paying those prices. Golden Island thrives for 2 reasons - Tesco and Penneys.
4) Id never haggle in a chainstore - chances are that even the store manager doesnt have the auth to give you a discount, but i still wouldnt get pissed off if someone asked. Id just say "Sorry i cant" until they went away.

AckwelFoley

veryangryman wrote: »

A few points in no particular order...

.
2) Athlone TownCentre, as many will tell you, should never have opened. It is far too big for a town this size, especially with Galway/Liffey Valley now so handy to get to (Galway even covers those of us without wheels with proximity of bus/rail station to shops)
.

Ive been in it no more than 10 times since it opened. The main reason is the parking its a pain in the arse. With Golden Island there it probably didnt need to be that big - i expect that the developers thought it would likk off golden island - how wrong they were

pawrick

Been there 4 times I think since it opened - i don't live in Athlone any more but I'm there most weekends.

If I have some cloths to buy I'll try to buy in Athlone but to be honest it's a pain in the a*s with the traffic when I have other more convenient options.

Another lost opportunity for the town i think.