BENETTON on Sarsfield Street is to close inside the next two weeks in another blow to city retail, the Limerick Post has been reliably informed.
The business is the latest casualty in a long line of retailers which have shut shop in the city, due to a significant reduction in footfall.
The Benetton franchise, held by the daughter of a Limerick business family, will no longer have an outlet in the city from next month, and the six full and part-time staff, some of whom have worked with the company for over 20 years, are to be made redundant.
The clothing retailer, which is Italian in origin, has relocated to various outlets across Limerick in the 27 years since it first arrived, having had stores on O’Connell Street, Thomas Street, in the Crescent Shopping Centre, and at two locations on Sarsfield Street. A number of fashion outlets based on Sarsfield Street have closed their doors in the last 10 years, including Topshop, Faith, Bay Trading and O’Sullivan’s Shoes. With the closure of the Benetton store, the street will be left more or less deserted.
Owner Marjorie Cusack told us that trade had been bad for the last six months, adding: “There is no longer any synergy in the city; it has become disjointed and abandoned and it is too expensive to operate there. The council are doing nothing about it.
“It was a difficult decision and took careful consideration to come to”.
Marjorie, 30 intends to stay in retail and is looking forward to new ventures.
A clearance sale is currently in place at the store.
