Paddy Malone (left) in the Long Walk Shopping Centre with county councillor Linus English, who will be running alongside him for Fine Gael in May’s local elections
Dundalk Chamber of Commerce PRO Paddy Malone has expressed his disappointment at the decision of Penneys to close their store in the Long Walk Shopping Centre next month.
The news, which was relayed to staff yesterday, caught everyone by surprise and speaking to LMFM this morning, Mr Malone – who will be contesting the local elections in May – said the company’s decision was a blow at a time when Dundalk was making good progress.
“I think the town had seen a gradual recovery from the disaster of 2009 when sterling was at the rate that it was and talking to people just before Christmas, December was a good month for everybody.
“The late rush just before Christmas didn’t materialise and weather I’d say was part of the problem but overall everyone was happy with how Christmas had gone for them. So to hear of a retailer of Penneys’ size and clout closing was disappointing.”
Mr Malone said he had tried to contact the company about the matter but had received no reply as of this morning. His thoughts were with the 20 staff affected though but he said he is hoping that they will be relocated to the other Penneys store in the Marshes Shopping Centre.
Despite the fact that the Penneys in the Marshes is bigger, Mr Malone said he felt there was room for two such stores in a town of Dundalk’s size.
“They’re still in the Marshes but I thought the two would have complimented each other,” he told The Micheal Reade Show.
“When you look at Dundalk, it is big enough to support a number of different stores in different locations from the same retailers. Dunnes have done it successfully so I’m disappointed that Penneys have taken that position.”
The Blackrock man said he hoped the Long Walk would be able to find a replacement as anchor tenant in the centre once Penneys vacates the shopping centre but did give a silver lining by insisting that there had been increased commercial interest in Dundalk in recent months.
“There has been a greater interest shown from overseas in the town in the last six months. That hasn’t materialised on the street yet but the signs are there that there is interest being shown in the place,” he said.
Previously: Penneys closing in Long Walk Shopping Centre
