2 Big Name Retailers Looking At Limerick City (Again)

TheInquisitor

Rumours abound that M&S and another mystery large retailer are looking at Limerick again. While this would be a great development we've heard it all before several times so I think I'll believe it when I see it!

For one the only major option for them would be the Opera centre. Dunnes aren't going to rent out their massive unused store to a major competitor.

Linky

dave 27

The plan I have heard is that Penneys and Tesco are to move across the road to the opera centre as 2 main anchors while the arthurs quay and penneys blocks will be demolished and be made of a riverside park..this was the original plan and i believe will be seen sooner rather than later as the city council own the site and are to have already started the clearance of the opera site already

Flincher

They could do a fine job in developing a park there if they demolished the old Dunnes on Sarsfield Street as well.

pigtown

Does anyone else think that the big newish building on Thomas St./Catherine St. would make a good large store. It's got four or five large floors and a good location between the fledgling Fashion Quarter and the Cafe Quarter, and close to Brown Thomas and parking. It would need a new central escalator/elevator but is in pretty good condition. I know it was sold a few months ago but there hasn't been much sign of life since then.

Cookiemunster

dave 27 wrote: »

The plan I have heard is that Penneys and Tesco are to move across the road to the opera centre as 2 main anchors while the arthurs quay and penneys blocks will be demolished and be made of a riverside park..this was the original plan and i believe will be seen sooner rather than later as the city council own the site and are to have already started the clearance of the opera site already

I saw this plan ages ago and its pie in the sky. Yes the council now owns the Opera center site but they don't own arthurs quay or Pennys and they definitely don't have the money to build the opera center or buy Authers Quay and Pennys just to demolish them.

Poxyshamrock

When I see a giant M and S being hoisted into place over a door, I'll believe it!

europa11

Sick to f*k about this M&S "will they, won't they" speculation yet again from the Portadown printed Leader. Not to mention the cringe inducing thought of Mayor Locky's daughter informing us once more of her lingerie preferences.

If we could attract any major international name here, I wish it was Carrefour (preferably) or Karstadt rather than yet another U.K. multiple turning our cities into cloned British 'Oi' Streets....one Cruises Street disaster should be enough.


* Like that idea (@pigtown) for a store in that building at Thomas/Catherine St. Class building imo.

pigtown

Cookiemunster wrote: »

I saw this plan ages ago and its pie in the sky. Yes the council now owns the Opera center site but they don't own arthurs quay or Pennys and they definitely don't have the money to build the opera center or buy Authers Quay and Pennys just to demolish them.

I seem to recall something about the centre reverting to City Council ownership this year or next. It could just be the carpark element though. Anyone know more on this?

Berty

Poxyshamrock wrote: »

When I see a giant M and S being hoisted into place over a door, I'll believe it!

Me too because my former Colleague who does the training in M&S assured me last year(somebody can find the post I'm sure) that they did have Limerick on their new store listings and would be opening.

So when I see the M&S I will believe it too. Anyway, stick an M&S in Old Dunnes on the Bridge and be done with it.

Screw it, Nandos and a Wagamama as well while your at it. Oh and a KFC drive through on the Ennis road(next to Woodies). Why the hell not whilst we are all dreaming I guess.

bazz26

Purple monkey dishwasher, me thinks.

theparish

and throw in a few job bridges to join all the new developments together

meoklmrk91

M&S feck that I want an Ikea now that would actually be a retailer that would breath life into limerick.

Berty

meoklmrk91 wrote: »

M&S feck that I want an Ikea now that would actually be a retailer that would breath life into limerick.

Wouldn't mind an Ikea. Hot dogs for 99c. (oh and Furniture as well)

Limerick being between Cork & Galway would be perfect mind you.

meoklmrk91

Beer Baron wrote: »

Wouldn't mind an Ikea. Hot dogs for 99c. (oh and Furniture as well)

Limerick being between Cork & Galway would be perfect mind you.

I highly doubt it but sure we can live in hope, I'd say if they were going to open another store they would put it in cork, and even at that it's a big if!

kilburn

The City Council do actually own Arthurs quay Shopping Centre

langdang

Beer Baron wrote: »

meoklmrk91 wrote: »

M&S feck that I want an Ikea now that would actually be a retailer that would breath life into limerick.

Wouldn't mind an Ikea. Hot dogs for 99c. (oh and Furniture as well)

Limerick being between Cork & Galway would be perfect mind you.

I'd actually just have to stop using the cork limerick cattletrack. Enough slow-mo's without them being loaded down with kitchen cabinets and improbably restrained couches.

Edit, you could add the limerick killarney road to that too!

Cookiemunster

kilburn wrote: »

The City Council do actually own Arthurs quay Shopping Centre

Are you sure about that? While I know the city council own the car park, the rest was build and paid for privately by Tiernan and O'Callagahan and is run by Tiernan Properties.

steveon

pigtown wrote: »

Does anyone else think that the big newish building on Thomas St./Catherine St. would make a good large store. It's got four or five large floors and a good location between the fledgling Fashion Quarter and the Cafe Quarter, and close to Brown Thomas and parking. It would need a new central escalator/elevator but is in pretty good condition. I know it was sold a few months ago but there hasn't been much sign of life since then.

Tescos were turned down for one of their express stores on that very site I beleive...

Poxyshamrock

steveon wrote: »

Tescos were turned down for one of their express stores on that very site I beleive...

Maybe they should stick an M&S Simply Food in there instead! :P

langdang

Poxyshamrock wrote: »

steveon wrote: »

Tescos were turned down for one of their express stores on that very site I beleive...

Maybe they should stick an M&S Simply Food in there instead! :P

Mmm some shortbreads and a bag of Percy Pigs please!

phog

I'd love to see a M&S come to Limerick. An IKEA might bring a customer base to the region but from my knowledge of their stores they can cause terrible traffic congestion so it would need to be based off the ring road and a new junction would almost be required for the store itself. It could certainly attract cusomers from the M18 and M7, but at peak times I'm not sure anyone would go to too much bother coming from the N20 or the N21 direction.

Kess73

steveon wrote: »

Tescos were turned down for one of their express stores on that very site I beleive...

That is correct. They wanted to go there but there were objections.

pigtown

steveon wrote: »

Tescos were turned down for one of their express stores on that very site I beleive...

Thank God for that. We have few enough shops as it is, another Tesco would hardly be an addition. If the council could secure a significant name that isn't all that common in Ireland, like House of Fraser, or maybe coin from Italy or V&D from the Netherlands. These type of stores would be more successful in drawing in shoppers from Cork or Galway or even Dublin because they are rare in Ireland. A M&S would not entice shoppers from anywhere else in the country, except maybe Ennis or Newcastlewest.

bazz26

The former Dell EMF3 plant would be ideal for the likes of IKEA, plenty of shipping bays for loading/unloading stock, plenty of floor space for stock, large car park for about 900 cars and close to the M20 motorway.

jamezy

bazz26 wrote: »

The former Dell EMF3 plant would be ideal for the likes of IKEA, plenty of shipping bays for loading/unloading stock, plenty of floor space for stock, large car park for about 900 cars and close to the M20 motorway.

Not a bad idea at all there....

TheInquisitor

steveon wrote: »

Tescos were turned down for one of their express stores on that very site I beleive...

Hi Folks it wasn't that there were objections. The problem was tesco couldn't get their trucks to be able to deliver around the building because the roads are too tight and the delivery entrance down the side alley is too small for any truck to get down. So the only way for them to deliver is stop in main road . Drag pallets down side alley while holding up all the traffic. Not really an option...

steveon

bazz26 wrote: »

The former Dell EMF3 plant would be ideal for the likes of IKEA, plenty of shipping bays for loading/unloading stock, plenty of floor space for stock, large car park for about 900 cars and close to the M20 motorway.

That would make 2 much sense for ne1 in the council to actually approve it as they wouldnt get any brown paper bags for approving it.. or supplying the building or thweir cousiins land for the development.

steveon

TheInquisitor wrote: »

Hi Folks it wasn't that there were objections. The problem was tesco couldn't get their trucks to be able to deliver around the building because the roads are too tight and the delivery entrance down the side alley is too small for any truck to get down. So the only way for them to deliver is stop in main road . Drag pallets down side alley while holding up all the traffic. Not really an option...

If they didn't put in a footpath wider than the street and pitiful loading bays that one van car barely squeeze into it would have been fine for any shop, that's the problem with this town and exactly the same problem is not showing face in William street, one lane is now continuously being blocked by people parking to either do delivers or drop some1 off as the footpaths are so wide, my opinion of the footpaths is not for safety or to reduce traffic using the roads but as an a plot by the council to enable them to allow more coffee shops put more seats out on the street raising them even more money...what they don't realize is...if u can park to get something or do a delivery then footfall wont happen in the first place which is exactly what is happening all over town, and why the likes of the Cresent and the Parkway are gaining stores....

Kess73

TheInquisitor wrote: »

Hi Folks it wasn't that there were objections. The problem was tesco couldn't get their trucks to be able to deliver around the building because the roads are too tight and the delivery entrance down the side alley is too small for any truck to get down. So the only way for them to deliver is stop in main road . Drag pallets down side alley while holding up all the traffic. Not really an option...

A number of the local stores did lodge objections to it, namely the nearby grocery stores and at least one off licence.


What it did do though is make a joke of the claim made by certain councillors that there were a number of high profile retailers all vying for that building.

As with most of the claims made by councillors about new retailers coming in, it turned out to be the stuff of fantasy.

steveon

Kess73 wrote: »

A number of the local stores did lodge objections to it, namely the nearby grocery stores and at least one off licence.


What it did do though is make a joke of the claim made by certain councillors that there were a number of high profile retailers all vying for that building.

As with most of the claims made by councillors about new retailers coming in, it turned out to be the stuff of fantasy.

Im sure they did as they cant stand the competition, and instead as u said the building is nothing but a waste, Im glad the Italian restaurant and hairdressers further up stuck together and refused to go as we would have an even bigger waste of space on one of our main streets.

Berty

bazz26 wrote: »

The former Dell EMF3 plant would be ideal for the likes of IKEA, plenty of shipping bays for loading/unloading stock, plenty of floor space for stock, large car park for about 900 cars and close to the M20 motorway.

the building is not suitable unless you drastically change it. In my opinion unless you add a 2nd floor its not big enough.

Mollywolly

meoklmrk91 wrote: »

M&S feck that I want an Ikea now that would actually be a retailer that would breath life into limerick.

Where I used to live in the UK, there was a huge M&S with an Ikea next door. The traffic was diabolical at weekends but it was a grand day out!

Now, if we could get BOTH of them to come to Limerick, that would create a good few jobs in retail and give a bit of a boost to our local economy.....:)

Kess73

Beer Baron wrote: »

the building is not suitable unless you drastically change it. In my opinion unless you add a 2nd floor its not big enough.

Totally agree. There would probably be at least as much cost in refitting that particular building for retail use, as there would be in building from scratch.

Car parking could also be an issue going by the volume of traffic other Ikea stores get, and the catchment area that a Limerick based Ikea store would have.

In the right location though it would be a massive draw, but in the wrong location it would cause traffic chaos.

fl4pj4ck

Beer Baron wrote: »

the building is not suitable unless you drastically change it. In my opinion unless you add a 2nd floor its not big enough.

I'm pretty sure all IKEA shops are built the same way, they just don't utilize existing buildings, they build from scratch exactly how they want it.

meoklmrk91

Just found this
http://www.independent.ie/national-news/ikea-looks-to-future-with-plan-for-third-irish-store-1613320.html

The timing is right with regards to what was said in the article, I know it's wishful thinking but I would love to hear something cool come to limerick that would get people some big exited and I'm sorry but I honestly don't think another feckin supermarket can do that.

pigtown

I'd imagine that the ideal site would be at the junction of M7, M20, and N18. There is plenty of undeveloped land there. It would be great if they could organise an upgrade of the junction if they build here and finally allow access to the city from this junction. But does anyone else think this would be bad news for the city? Limerick has lots of furniture shops around and I'm sure an Ikea wouldn't be great for business.

Kess73

pigtown wrote: »

I'd imagine that the ideal site would be at the junction of M7, M20, and N18. There is plenty of undeveloped land there. It would be great if they could organise an upgrade of the junction if they build here and finally allow access to the city from this junction. But does anyone else think this would be bad news for the city? Limerick has lots of furniture shops around and I'm sure an Ikea wouldn't be great for business.

In terms of direct jobs Ikea stores create hundreds upon opening, then there is the knock on effect that creates indirect jobs.


The Dublin Ikea create 500 direct jobs when it opened and a similar number of indirect jobs. It was also the cause of literally thousands and thousands of shoppers from outside of Dublin making the trip to get to that store and as a result extra money was spent in that side of Dublin and in the surrounding areas be it at other retailers, eateries, service stations etc.


A full sized Ikea in Limerick would have the same impact and would draw in custom from Galway, Clare, Limerick, Kerry, Cork, Waterford, Tipperary and other counties for who Limerick was closer than Dublin.

An Ikea store opening in an area is nothing like a new Marks and Spencers store or a new Brown Thomas or what not. It really does draw in thousands and thousands of people and they bring in huge numbers all year round and it is not just the furniture that brings in people, their restaurants are a big draw as well.

Ikea stores tend to draw so many people that things like bus routes, road lanes etc get changed to accommodate the increase in people using the route.


One in Limerick would bring far more positives than negatives, and whilst it's opening would damage some existing stores it would still create far far more jobs that it would cause to go.

I would go as far as to argue that if a full sized Ikea store opened in Cork that it could have nearly as big an impact on the Limerick stores selling similar product ranges as it would have it it was in Limerick. A Cork Ikea store would see the Limerick tunnel do great business alright as shoppers from Galway and Clare headed for Ikea.


An Ikea store would draw the masses to Limerick all year round, it would then be up to the city planners, retailers and service providers to figure out ways to make money out of the extra tens of thousands of people coming to Limerick instead of sitting back and expecting others to make it happen

pigtown

You may be right. I was just thinking that Ikea does furniture, fitted kitchens and wardrobes, bathrooms, rugs, curtains, etc. and I don't think it would be an exaggeration to say that almost 100 businesses in the city alone sell these products. An Ikea has the potential to put a dent in an awful lot of people's profits.

TheEntertainer

City Council DO NOT own Arthurs Quay Shopping Centre. They own the park yes but not the shopping centre. They have never owned it. It is privately owned and operated by Tiernan Properties.

Berty

TheEntertainer wrote: »

City Council DO NOT own Arthurs Quay Shopping Centre. They own the park yes but not the shopping centre. They have never owned it. It is privately owned and operated by Tiernan Properties.

Doncove Ltd is the Shopping Centre owner and Berryvale Ltd are the head landlord and TCE Management LTD are the tenants.

Limerick Cit Council operates the Car Park on a lease arrangement and in March 2013 they will be presented with the option to purchase the car park but NOT the shopping centre.

You can find more information in the Local Government Audits. The most recent one I can find is December 2010

http://www.environ.ie/en/Publications/LocalGovernment/AuditService/2010AuditorsReports/FileDownLoad,29773,en.pdf

See Page 22 Section 7.7

pigtown

As far as I can see, a new big retailer could/would open in the following spots; old Dunnes Stores on Sarsfield St., old Instore on Ellen St., big new building on Thomas St. or a site on Patrick St.

In my opinion the site that would bring most benefit to the city is the old Dunnes. A major draw down there would draw footfall down Sarsfield St. from Debenhams and Brown Thomas, and along Henry St from Bedford Row and Dunnes Stores. A regular footfall would encourage more businesses to set up along here, revitalising the area.

The Thomas St. building would be great but I don't think the area is as much in need of a boost. I don't think the Market Quarter is a suitable area for big retailers, and I think the site on Patrick St. should be used for offices, education and apartments. It's fairly far from the retail core and I don't think Limerick will ever have enough shoppers to make an extension of the core of that size viable.