Business
Limerick Chamber Retail Resilience Strand launched
Limerick Chamber Retail Resilience Strand launched – From Left to Right: Caoimhe Moloney – Limerick Chamber, Nessa McGann – Spin South West, Siobhan Patrick- Spin South West, Deirdre Twomey – Bank of Ireland, Cait Early – Speaker / Skin 26, Brian O’Donnell – Speaker / Limerick Chamber, Jane Swarbrigg – Speaker / Inglot, Maria Walsh – Workbench Manager/ Bank Of Ireland, Caroline Kinane – Spin South West, Sinead Walsh – Spin South West. Photo credit: Shauna Kennedy
Limerick Chamber Retail Resilience Strand launched
Limerick Chamber recently hosted the Retail Resilience Strand together with Spin Southwest, and Bank of Ireland.
The attendees’ got to hear from both National and Local Industry leaders which consisted of ‘Girl Boss’ winner and owner of Inglot Franchise Ireland and UK, Jane Swarbrigg and our Local entrepreneur Cait Earley of Skin 26.
There was also an economic overview from Limerick Chamber’s Interim Director of Policy, Brian O’Donnell who presented data regarding the economic conditions Limerick retailers face, such as rates, industry and trends such as employment and infrastructural development in the city and the impact this will have on the retail climate in Limerick.
There was an array of prizes to be won on the night from a spa treatment from the fantastic Fitzgerald’s Woodlands Hotel, to cocktail tasting in the eclectic House Limerick and meal vouchers from the beautiful waterfront location of Milano’s, the attendees were also treated to an array of Inglot products and vouchers.
This is the first initiative of its kind to be launched in Limerick, Limerick Chamber Events Manager Caoimhe Moloney said, “We really want to provide support for our city retailers, we want to provide top quality events for our retailers so that they can be inspired and learn from Industry leaders on both a national and local level, in order to see growth in the city we need to have support services in place, this initiative will help existing retailers to grow and evolve with the market and inspire those who are looking to set up new boutiques or stores in Limerick which in turn may increase the footfall back to the city centre”.
Limerick Chamber has urged the retailers of Limerick to support this initiative as it would have such potential for the region and with the support of Spin Southwest, it can help promote Limerick to a larger audience.
The Retail Resilience Strand will see an array of events hosted by Limerick Chamber across a variety of topics from Visual Merchandising and Display to loss prevention and customer retention, in the intermittent months attendee’s will also hear from industry leaders on both a national and local basis who will provide their story from the successes to the struggles and lessons learned along the way.
Attendees were able to resonate with the key speakers from the retail resilience launch with Jane Swarbrigg of Inglot encouraging retailers to be innovative in how they approach their brand, products and customer service.
She emphasised an important focus on the recent shift to online sales as well as location-based shops, she encouraged retailers to value their teams, to be selective in the individual they want to involve in their brand, to ensure you have a strong team that is happy will help retain your staff but also help create a welcoming and enthusiastic environment for your customers. She also emphasised the importance of social media and role it plays in helping to communicate with your customers.
Cait Earley of Skin 26 emphasised the importance of knowing your brand, and It origins and taking a steady approach to growth ensuring it is manageable and in keeping with your brand values. She also spoke about the growth of Skin 26 from its origins in Dublin to the success it now has today with a fantastic facility based on Catherine Street.
Cait spoke openly in relation to the struggles all retailers face in setting up a business but that through perseverance and hard work, results eventually appear and with that comes growth.
If you would like to find out more about the Limerick Chamber Retail Resilience Strand, please contact Limerick Chamber at 061 415 180.
To visit the official Limerick Chamber website click here
To read more Limerick Chamber stories on I Love Limerick click here