Athlone retailers have reported a festive season that was “worse than last year but better than they expected”, according to Athlone Chamber of Commerce.
Commenting on the performance of businesses during the Christmas period, chairman of Athlone Chamber, Aengus O’Rourke, said that Athlone as a whole performed “very well” during the Christmas period.
“In these tough trading times it is very important to reassure the people of Athlone that the town has performed well during the Christmas period,” he said.
“I would like to quell rumours flying around about dramatic closures and job losses in Athlone. While I don’t deny times are tough, many of the business people in Athlone are satisfied with sales over the Christmas period.”
He added that many businesses are coming up with resourceful ways of ensuring their continued success. “If you look around, businesses are coming up with lots of new ways to market themselves, have many special offers for customers, and are introducing new and more innovative ways of engaging with their customers and promoting their products and services. They are also maintaining control by managing their costs very tightly.
“If we continue to support local business and businesses support each other we can get through this period,” he said.
According to CEO of Athlone Chamber, Siobhan Bigley, one of the many positive signs has been the success of the Athlone Chamber gift voucher scheme. Over €28,000 worth of the gift vouchers have been sold since the scheme was launched in November.
“The vouchers are now beginning to circulate, so that is €28,000 that will be spent in the town. The vouchers will continue to be available throughout the year,” said Ms Bigley. “Retailers felt that business was steady over Christmas. It was not as good as last year, but not as bad as people expected.”
Initiatives such as the free parking days offered by Athlone Town Council in the run up to Christmas were invaluable in encouraging people to shop locally, according to Ms Bigley.
“Retailers felt that they were getting people’s loyalty. And the retailers have responded, for example by starting their sales early.”
