WITH THE recession biting, one retailer seems to be keeping the sunny side out.
Jody Wainright, owner-director of the posh Grafton Street jeweller Boodles, tells us that July, August and September (so far) have been sparkling months, making up for a dull performance in March, April and May.
Wainright says he has “a handshake” on a €500,000-plus sale of pink diamonds to a local high roller. He wasn’t giving away the identity of the buyer, but maybe it was major-winning golfer Pádraig Harrington, who was snapped in the store last week by one of the English tabloids.
Founded in Liverpool in the late 18th century and still family owned, Boodles opened here in June 2006. Wainright said sales in the year to the end of February 2008 amounted to about €5 million. He had pencilled in €8 million for the current year but the credit crunch has taken the shine off that projection of late.
“I’d settle quite happily for €6.5 million at this point,” he said. “Some of the property guys are a bit quieter now.”
The Grafton Street shop, which costs an eye-watering €550,000 in rent annually, gets about “20 customers on a good day” midweek and maybe double that at the weekend. It’s just as well that the average sale is for about €8,000 and it only employs seven staff. Business is mostly driven by Dublin-based customers, but it has some regulars in Cork, Limerick and Tralee.
Boodles’ next opening is in New York, and Wainright is grateful for one thing: “We don’t owe the banks a penny, which makes me feel very good in the current environment.”
