Dunnes Stores is opening a new homewares shop in Dublin, selling a large range of furniture for the first time. Eoin Lyons meets their top buyer
Dubliner Teresa Rafter began her career with Dunnes Stores straight from school. Now, 29 years and a number of promotions later, she is head of homewares for the chain. This autumn she will oversee the opening of a new homewares shop at street level beneath the company's head office, still under construction, on South Great Georges Street. "The homewares department in the St Stephen's Green Centre will stay open," she says, "and this new shop will sell everything that's available there and also four new lines of furniture. A 65sq m (700sq ft) mock-up of an apartment in the centre of the shop will show how some of it looks in a home environment. We have a good following for things you can carry away from our shops, so furniture was the next step."
The Georges Street shop will cover 1,114sq m (12,000sq ft) in the city centre at a time when many competitors are moving to retail parks on the outskirts. "People who live in the city will be a big part of our market. What we're catering for is apartment living . . . Many pieces are designed to fit small spaces."
Under Rafter's direction, four new ranges called City, Loft, Metro and Retro will be introduced. There are three price brackets: lead-in products such as a €40 stool; mid-price items such as a nest of tables for €100 and at the upper end, sofas from about €1,000.
The overall style of the furniture is somewhere between contemporary and traditional, nothing too hard-edged. There are three wood types ("dark is the most popular") and plenty of leather. One of the best pieces is a low, chubby sofa in dark grey tweed for €1,100 that isn't a million miles from what you might see in more upmarket shops. For the price, it is impressive. "Young people are changing their furniture every five years now and that's what we're responding to - the price goes down because we deal in volume."
Rafter travels to the Far East to oversee production, but some of the furniture is also made in Italy (including many sofas. Some is sourced from the same suppliers as the American chain Pottery Barn, and some is made in this country. A team in the Dublin office works on design - colour, trends, and adapting products to the Irish market.
The furniture will be on display in larger branches but can be ordered from any shop through a catalogue. Rafter has also set up a home delivery service. "Many people in the city don't drive," says Rafter, "and customers don't want to struggle bringing something home. Your furniture will arrive within five days and be delivered by people who have been well vetted."
The location of the homewares shop will bring new life to the upper end of Georges Street and Aungier Street, an area that has not yet been fully developed. When Rafter started with Dunnes Stores, they traded in this spot under the name of Cassidy's. "Retail was such a different business 30 years ago. Dublin was a small town. Now every big retailer wants to be here." For example, Ikea is to open later this year; Habitat has a new shop on Suffolk Street and Famous Furniture, the offshoot of a British chain selling discounted furniture, recently opened on the Long Mile Road.
Visit a bigger branch of Dunnes Stores and it's easy to see why the homewares section competes so well. Bed linen, china, rugs and so on are all of good quality and appealing design. In addition to Rafter's efforts to upgrade the merchandise, her success has been helped by a shift in consumers' perception of the chain. "People choose to shop here and choose to spend less," she says. And they like to boast about shopping clever, getting something beautiful or practical, but not spending much money.
For Rafter, there is satisfaction in paying attention to detail. "We put as much effort into getting a towel design right as we do a dining table. It has been hard work getting to this stage, but it's enjoyable, and people really do get on behind the scenes at the company." Working with homewares involves a constant turnover. "Things become stale quickly in retailing, so we keep adding new dimensions - with the new furniture, every need is covered. We can still improve our merchandising, but we're getting there. I've just hired a very good interior designer who will work on how the goods are displayed. The new shop will have a slightly different look, but we won't be throwing the baby out with the bath water."
Dunnes Stores homewares branch is due to open on Georges Street, Dublin, in October