Remarks at the Retail Excellence Ireland Awards
3rd November 2012
Tá an-áthas orm bheith anseo i bhur measc anocht. Go raibh míle maith agaibh as ucht bhur bhfáilte chaoin agus cneasta.
Ladies and Gentlemen, I am very pleased to be here with you this evening for the 2012 Retail Excellence Awards. I wish to thank David Fitzsimons, CEO of Retail Excellence Ireland, for the kind invitation. The annual awards which started in 1997 are a most important initiative to develop high quality retail standards and skills, and promote a vibrant and competitive world class retail industry in Ireland.
Retail Excellence Ireland was formed in 1995 and now involves over 1,000 leading retail companies who operate over 11,000 stores in the Irish market. This year over 700 entrants applied to take part in the awards programme. The popularity of the programme is without doubt a testament to a deep commitment within the retail sector to ongoing quality improvement.
It is right tonight that we salute the achievement of the 30 finalists and acknowledge the enormous efforts which they have made throughout the year to survive and prosper in the currently difficult and challenging trading conditions.
Tugann searmanais dámhachtana ar nós cheann an trathnóna seo uchtach mór dom maidir le cumas na tíre seo ’gainne éirí in airde os cionn na ndeacrachtaí reatha chun réaltachtaí nua a bhaint amach. Is iad ár bpríomh-neart iad, tallainn ár muintire agus ár mbraistint láidir phobail, ár mbraistint láidir chuimsitheachta agus ár mbraistint láidir chomhphairtíochta in éineacht, agus seasfaidh siad go daingean dúinn chun na féidearachtaí gan teorainn sin a thabairt i gcrích, atá ar chumas mhuintir na hÉireann a aimsiú.
[Award ceremonies like this evening give me great faith in the ability of our country to rise above current adversities and create new realities. The talents of our people combined with our strong sense of community spirit, inclusiveness and partnership are key strengths which will serve us well in delivering on the limitless possibilities that the Irish people are capable of achieving.]
I would particularly like to commend Retail Excellence Ireland for recently launching its Town & City Management Framework with groups who have an active interest in the wellbeing of Ireland’s towns and cities. This is in response to its research findings that the Irish town and city centre is in a very distressed state for retail operations and have become less engaging and relevant to Irish consumers.
Retail Excellence Ireland carried out a survey to assess performance across the largest towns and cities and the top 100 list was recently published with Independent News & Media Group. The survey makes a clear case that everyone has to be involved locally to make their location attractive for customers. Many towns are doing a great job with the use of new Town Teams to focus their efforts.
I see that Westport has taken first place in the initial list and has set a very high standard that will lift the efforts by other towns and cities to make visiting and shopping a real pleasure.
The Challenges
Over the last 15 years, Ireland’s retailers have lived through two completely different chapters in our economic history. The so-called Celtic Tiger briefly served as a symbol of an Ireland that apparently couldn’t fail. Where easy credit, property speculation and consumer consumption could each sustain each other, ever upwards, in some form of holy trinity.
Unfortunately, that version of Ireland could and did fail. The simplest of home truths reasserted their own dominance. What goes up must indeed come back down. And speculative property bubbles will always burst.
Our people are still struggling with the consequences of that failure as they seek to cope with unprecedented economic turmoil. We are in the middle of one of most challenging times in our history. As a bedrock of our domestic economy, the retail industry has suffered more than most in the current crisis. The retail market has shrunk by over one fifth in value terms since 2007 due to the recession and approximately 50,000 former retail employees have gone on the Live Register since 2008.
It is neither possible nor desirable to replicate the consumption-led, debt-fuelled economic growth of the later ‘Celtic Tiger’ years. As a society, we cannot return to having blind faith in markets to deliver a future of endless, rapid and consumption-led growth . As business people, you will be all too aware of the hard realities facing employers and employees.
The budgetary and austerity readjustments in recent years have clearly impacted on household incomes with the result that retail sales have fallen dramatically. Retail is on the front line and the first to suffer the effects of the recession.
The quarterly industry performance reviews by Retail Excellence show that retail sales have continued to experience aggressive declines for nearly four years. The most recent results saw the 14th consecutive quarter of sales decline. The annual reduction in retail sales in July 2012 was 5.5% which follows research that three quarters of retailers feel that the very viability of their business is at risk and one third anticipating further job losses.
Among the most pressing problems identified by retailers are rising costs, unsustainable commercial rates, and unrealistic upward only rent reviews. We have sadly seen many well known and well loved retailers closing their doors. Even in traditional SME sectors like books and music, where the Irish have traditionally been avid consumers, the strong migration to online shopping from sources outside the State poses tremendous challenges.
It is important, however, to remember that the retail industry continues to be a huge part of our national economy, not least in the very valuable number of jobs it provides in every townland and community in the country. As an industry employing over a quarter of a million people, it directly impacts on the day-to-day lives of all our citizens and contributes so much to our national life.
Ní ann d’aon réiteach simplí ar na dúshláin amach romhainn. Ach tá cruthaithe fúthu féin roimhe seo ag muintir na hÉireann, go bhfuil siad ildánach, cruthaitheach, acmhainneach. Is mé i láthair ag Dámhachtanaí Fhiontraí na Bliana an tseachtain seo chaite chuaigh sé i bhfeidhm orm go mór an soirbhíocht agus an diongbháilteacht a bhí ann go n-oibreoimid as lámha a chéile chun na bacainní a bhriseadh is siocair leis an ngeilleagar a choinneáil siar.
[There are no easy solutions to the challenges we face. But Irish people have proven themselves before to be adaptable, creative and resourceful. At last week’s Entrepreneur of the Year Awards I was struck by the optimism and determination to collectively help break the chains holding down our economy.]
I have been privileged at many other events in my first year in office to hear a flood of ideas to lift us out of the post-Celtic Tiger gloom. In particular, in my recent consultation process called Being Young and Irish, I have been inspired by how our young people see our shared future, built positively on solid and sustainable foundations.
In these difficult times, it is critical that we do not give up hope. Rather we need to gather our collective wisdom to ensure that the lessons of the past are fully learned. Through your continued efforts, Retail Excellence Ireland has an important role in this process of national renewal and of realising Ireland’s limitless possibilities.
I pay tribute to you all tonight for your commitment to achieving a vibrant and competitive world class retail industry in Ireland, and the employment and wealth for all that it creates.
In conclusion, I congratulate all of the entrants for the awards and the finalists. And of course the award winners who by their example are shining a light on the pathway forward.
Chun criochnaigh, ba mhaith liom mo chomhghairdeas fhein a thabhairt nach amháin do na buaiteoiri ach freisin do gach aon duine a ghlac páirt san chomortas i mbliana. Tá suil agam go mbeidh oiche geal agaibh, gan amhras tá se thar a bheith tuillte agaibh. Slán agus beannacht.