THE SINN FÉIN Book Shop had a turnover of over €350,000 last year, but losses at the company continue to mount.
The book shop has ceased to sell via its physical store in Dublin as of October 2017 with all sales now conducted via the internet.
The online shop, which is run by a company called Republican Merchandising Limited, sells all manner of republican memorabilia, including clothes, books, posters, pictures, and badges.
The most recently filed accounts for Republican Merchandising, for 2016 and filed last month, show the company had turnover of €352,049 that year.
However, turnover was actually down from €367,951 in 2015, while sales costs increased by €29,000, seeing gross profits drop by €45,000.
All told, the company made a total loss of €18,807 for 2016, a turnaround from a profit of €49,591 the previous year.
The company had accumulated losses of €60,433 as at end 2016.
Principal activity
“The principal activity of the company is the sale of political promotional memorabilia including books, a monthly magazine, tee-shirts and related material,” the records state.
Included in the company’s gross liabilities is an amount of €76,680 owed to Sinn Féin. However the financials indicate that Sinn Féin will not seek repayment of that sum until “the company is in a position to do so”.
“On this basis the directors consider it appropriate to prepare the financial statements on a going concern business,” the records state.
€93,996 was paid to staff in wages and salaries, down €99,126 from 2015. However it’s unclear how many staff the company employs.
The records state that the “company is dependent upon public interest to generate sales”, and acknowledge that “trading conditions during the year were difficult”.
The directors are doing their utmost to promote the company’s products and generate new business.
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