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Updated at 11pm
CLOTHING STORE BEST Menswear has gone into examinership.
The retailer has faced financial difficulty since the closure of Clerys department store last month, where it had been a concession holder.
Earlier this month it opened a pop-up store on Parnell Street in Dublin as a means of clearing its remaining stock.
Declan McDonald of Price Waterhouse Coopers has been appointed to the act as interim examiner to the business. He’ll be assisting with the restructuring of the company to ensure its financial viability into the future.
In a statement this evening, managing director of Best Menswear, David Jones, said:
While trading is slowly improving, the biggest challenge remains unsustainably high rents and upward only rent reviews, which are a significant burden on our business.
“These are a legacy of Celtic Tiger Ireland and do not reflect the economic reality we are all operating in today.
“A key part of the success of this process will be our ability to renegotiate rents and lease terms with our landlords.”
Best Menswear has 13 branches around the country.
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I’d love to know where this ‘recovery’ is taking place as talk to a lot of retailers these days and they’ll tell you it’s worse now than it was two years ago. I’m giving my business another year and if it doesn’t improve, I will have no choice but to close. I may only have two staff but that’s two people I will have to let go. I take no wage from my business as it’s just not there. Worked hard all my life and I’ve nothing to show for it. I’ve lost thousands in the last year just trying to keep it going, I’m at the end of my rope. I’m sure I’m not the only one. Don’t believe the hype guys.
Sorry to hear that mate. I hope something positive changes for you soon.
One more year Gary, the guilt of having to let two lovely staff go is the worst part to be honest. I’ll give it my best shot but when funds are low it’s hard to fight back out of the corner. It infuriates me when I see the government going on about recovery and we’re doing well, we’re bloody not! Thanks for good wishes.
That’s terrible selfsustainable, I do hope something positive happens soon for you. We never get to hear the stories of people like you these days, only a bland blanket generalisation about how great everything is now
Keep the good side as my mother always says, I’ll battle on and if it fails, well at least I gave it my best shot.
It must be tough being in that situation. best of luck with it.
Sorry to hear that. Entrepreneurs like yourself should be supported more. Your not the first I’ve heard saying you don’t take pay. That’s just not on. And then not supported with social welfare after paying wages to others. Where is the fairness.
I totally agree , like you I am just trying to keep the door open, to pay staff, and suppliers etc. In the hope that this recovery they are all talking about will become reality. It’s all hype there is no recovery especially for retail/wholesale . This government is determined to close indigenous Irish business while doing everything in its power to court foreign companies, which in turn syphon off the profits to whatever country they are from more than likely Germany . Somebody needs to highlight this fact before everything will be in the hands of the multi nationals. Somebody needs to shout stop and quickly.
I had to make the same decision myself 3 years ago. Don’t let the negative thoughts eat at you. Things will come good.
“This government is determined to close indigenous Irish business while doing everything in its power to court foreign companies, which in turn syphon off the profits to whatever country they are from more than likely Germany.”
Most foreign owned companies in Ireland are firstly British and secondly American. People need to stop blaming the Germans for all our problems.
Also there is plenty of evidence to show that there is a two speed recovery with the Greater Dublin Area doing much better than the rest of the country. So that is probably the reason why there are such divergences in experience on here.
Try the enterprise boards. They have mentors there to help and could inject some fresh ideas into your business. Worth a look. Good luck mate.
Think you need to think again, aldi, lidl, maxi zoo, etc and check who owns a lot of the buildings on Grafton street you will find they are also German owned.
We need to start talking about how dangerous the private issuance of money as debt is affecting our society. Particularly since the private institutions that create the debt aren’t being allowed to fail, despite incredibly poor investments (ahem, derivatives bubbles, bond bubbles etc). This is leading to massive market instability. The President’s Plunge Protection Team is intervening thousands of times per day in our markets.
I don’t care if you can’t understand – do some research! Legitimate businesses are collapsing due to this financial model, and businesses which should fail are being allowed to stand.
there customers also have upward only rent reviews, hindering their spending power too, something needs to be done about rent in this country!
They were too expensive though, good products, always about 20-30% too dear.
another one bites the dust , best of luck to all the staff.
Jabus thank me lucky stars that I worked for them last year but the franchise was taken over . Feel bad for some of the guys there. Wish them all the best as there are great staff there
Great little country to do business eh !!.
Realistically Best was going to close recession or not. It was outdated and subpar compared to other shops. Not to mention many of its customers were entering their twilight years. The shops seemed to lack any real strategy to them other than pack the shop full of old suits and hope for the best. M&S has a better range .
While trading is slowly improving, the biggest challenge remains unsustainably high rents and upward only rent reviews, which are a significant burden on our business.
This statement says a lot and demonstrates the direction parasitical neo liberal capitalism is taking civilization.
I feel sorry for the staff who are without work but their clothing lines weren’t great for years.
Clearys, Bests, Abberly Court Hotel, The Cuckoo’s Nest Pub… All long established names in disparate sectors, all gone in the last 6 months. The recovery is even more mythical than the Celtic Tiger. Are we really so much better off than Greece??
Sometimes it’s simply that shops and other types of businesses have had their day and times change. Other shops are doing well if you look around you and new ones opening weekly and other ones being refurbished.
Had a party booked and paid for at the abberly on a trip home from Oz. e800 gone never to be returned.
Maybe if they got the money they were owed from Clerys for 6 weeks trading their business could be saved? Another business on its knees thanks to Deirdre Foley and Gordon Brothers.
shopped there during sales, can’t afford their normal prices
Frainc the capitalist system is designed to keep you on your knees….while wearing average looking clothes.
Not surprised – you’d get much better quality suits in marks and sparks for lower price and more contemporary
No doubt Clerys has had a massive impact on them. But Deirdre Foley won’t care once she can make her millions. Hope Best pull through and Natrium lose money on the Clerys building
You have to measure according to your cloth
nooooooooooo
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