A recent visit to the Eyre Square Shopping Centre has brought to our attention to staff and stock issues in Galway’s retail industry. Speaking to shop workers through glass screens, although something we’ve become accustomed to, reminded us of the ways in which businesses are trying to adapt to the ‘new normal’.
Stepping into SubCity, the centre’s comic book store, we were quickly made aware of the issues. John and Declan described the cycle of difficulty in obtaining stock due to the pandemic. Companies that print SubCity’s books were often unable to do so because of “paper and ink shortages”. The shop faced a recurring pattern when trying to assimilate stock over the course of the pandemic. If their companies were able to print books, they “couldn’t get drivers to drive them”. Some sort of problem would occur at “every step of the chain” for the shop.
A lot of retailers face trouble getting hold of stock, not so much because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but because of Brexit. Laurence from Gadget Gear related to us that getting stock from England is a “nightmare”. “Problems with lorry drivers” and “delays in stock delivery” have led to an increase in Chinese-made stock being purchased by the store.
Some places like The Card Shop didn’t have much difficulty getting stock. Rather, they were faced with a shortage of staff. After the majority of the shop’s staff had left over the course of the pandemic, they were re-hiring, and only got applications from secondary school students. There were virtually “no CVs from adults coming in, it seemed like no one wanted to work”.
Finn O’Brien, a staff member in FunTech, commented that the shop has faced its fair share of staff shortages. There were “three of us when I started, but now we’re down to just two and I’m the only full-time employee”, he said.
John and Declan chatted to us about how differently retail outlets now function. A number of well-known shops “now close at 5 pm”, as opposed to pre-pandemic times, where they would close at 6. On top of this, a number of stores “no longer open on a Sunday”. John commented on the unnerving amount of shops that now feature “closing-down sale” signs in their windows. He added that he’s “very thankful that SubCity has such loyal customers”.
Fortunately, since the loosening of restrictions on the 21st of January, SubCity has noticed an increase in customers. Lindsay Kelly and Ava O’Connor at The Card Shop also happily commented that the “place has been packed” since that momentous day. While profits had indeed been higher pre-pandemic, the staff seemed satisfied that the shop is “doing good”.
Like seemingly every other retailer in Galway, John and Declan are expecting a surge of tourists in the summer. “American tourists”, in particular, are much awaited by retailers in Eyre Square Shopping Centre. In the summer months, SubCity usually gets a “flurry of Spanish kids” who love to visit the store on their trips. After the exceptionally dull summers of 2020 and 2021, SubCity is hoping that the easing of restrictions will pave the way for a prosperous and lively summertime.
Similarly, a significant portion of Gadget Gear’s business depends on tourist trade. Laurence and his team are “looking forward to the summer if the tourists come”. “Bring it on”, he added with a laugh, as he, and every store owner across the land, sits in wait for the long-awaited tourist trade of the next few months.
