Sir, – Surely there is nothing harder than the neck of an Irish politician. Since the weekend three Ministers, including the Tánaiste Joan Burton, have condemned the treatment meted out to employees of Clerys. You might be excused for thinking they are helpless onlookers. This is the Government. What it doing to ensure this never happens again? – Yours, etc,
EUGENE McELDOWNEY,
Howth,
Co Dublin.
Sir, – Of course we all feel sorry for everyone who has suddenly lost their job at Clerys. However, when was the last time any of us saw or heard an advert for Clerys? When was the last time you were handed a flyer on the Dublin streets when walking within half a mile of the store? How many people did it invite to sign up for its emailing list, or for their text marketing list? Who has a Clerys store card? Why didn’t Clerys have a branch in Dundrum or the Liffey Valley and a small branch at Dublin Airport? When was the last time you clicked through to the Clerys web store from another website? Or overheard someone say, “Oh I got that in Clerys”?
No business can survive on past glories. The job losses are sad, but the lack of management and the owners that allowed this business and iconic brand to fall into oblivion are worse.
Clerys? That’s the place that used to have the lovely Christmas shop windows, isn’t it? – Yours, etc,
BRENDAN QUINN,
Enniscrone,
Co Sligo.