Debenhams Ireland was a national chain of
department stores
A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store made a dramatic appea ...
in Ireland, that was owned ultimately by
Debenhams plc
Debenhams plc was a British department store chain operating in the United Kingdom, Denmark and the Republic of Ireland. It was founded in 1778 as a single store in London and grew to 178 locations across those countries, also owning the Danish ...
. It was largely based on the former Roches Store chain, though after that business divested its grocery units.
History
Roches Stores (1901–2007)
Debenhams Ireland has its origins in Roches Stores, a business founded in
Cork
Cork or CORK may refer to:
Materials
* Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product
** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container
***Wine cork
Places Ireland
* Cork (city)
** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...
in 1901 by William Roche, as a small
furniture
Furniture refers to movable objects intended to support various human activities such as seating (e.g., stools, chairs, and sofas), eating (tables), storing items, eating and/or working with an item, and sleeping (e.g., beds and hammocks). Fu ...
shop, the chain grew to eleven stores throughout Ireland. At their peak, eight of the locations also had co-located grocery stores. Roches Stores began to exit the grocery trade in 1999, leasing its stores to
SuperValu, although some of these stores closed after mere months. In October 2007, Roches Stores ceased operating.
Debenhams (1996–2007)
The UK operations of Debenhams entered the
Republic of Ireland
Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...
as an opening anchor of the
Jervis Shopping Centre
The Jervis Shopping Centre is a major shopping centre in Dublin, Ireland. Opened in 1996, the centre is located in the area bordered by Jervis Street, Upper Abbey Street, Mary Street, and Liffey Street. The centre has a total of 70 stores inc ...
in 1996, with a second store an opening anchor at
Mahon Point Shopping Centre
Mahon the Point Shopping Centre is the second largest shopping centre in Munster. Located in the Mahon area of Cork in Ireland, the centre was opened in February 2005. It has over 2000 free-of-charge indoor and outdoor parking spaces.
Facili ...
in 2005.
Debenhams Ireland (2007–2020)
On 8 August 2006, it was announced that Debenhams would buy the leaseholds of nine of the 11 Roches Stores for €29 million. Under the deal, the stores, including those in
St. Patrick's Street
St Patrick's Street ( ga, Sráid Naomh Pádraig) is the main shopping street of the city of Cork in the south of Ireland. The street was subject to redevelopment in 2004, and has since won two awards as Ireland's best shopping street. St Patrick ...
in Cork and Henry Street in Dublin would be rebranded as Debenhams stores. The Roche family retained the ownership of the stores, and Debenhams became the new tenants.
Marks & Spencer
Marks and Spencer Group plc (commonly abbreviated to M&S and colloquially known as Marks's or Marks & Sparks) is a major British multinational retailer with headquarters in Paddington, London that specialises in selling clothing, beauty, home ...
had agreed to acquire the company's Wilton outlet in Cork; however that deal later fell through due to a dispute over rent with the owners of the centre. The eleventh store, in Dublin's
Nutgrove Shopping Centre
Nutgrove Shopping Centre is one of two shopping centres located in Rathfarnham, a southern suburb of Dublin. The centre was built on part of the old Lamb's Jam orchards.
The first drive-through restaurant (a McDonald's drive-thru) in Europe op ...
, was closed.
Due to poor sales, Debenhams Retail (Ireland) announced in January 2010 that it would cut 170 jobs within its Republic of Ireland stores.
In November 2010 Debenhams launched Debenhams.ie, the retailer's new Irish online store.
On 12 May 2016 Debenhams Ireland filed for
examinership
Examinership is a process in Irish law whereby the protection of the Court is obtained to assist the survival of a company. It allows a company to restructure with the approval of the High Court.
To obtain the appointment of an examiner it ...
(analogous to the US
Chapter 11
Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code (Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, wheth ...
bankruptcy protection process), which it exited successfully on 19 August 2016.
On 9 April 2019, the parent company based in the UK announced that it had gone into pre-pack
administration
Administration may refer to:
Management of organizations
* Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal
** Administrative assistant, Administrative Assistant, traditionally known as a Secretary, or also known as an admini ...
. On 26 April 2019, Debenhams Ireland confirmed to customers it was under a 'new management structure' and the company Debenhams Ireland Ltd (including Northern Ireland stores) would not be affected by the administration process taking place in the UK. The only Republic of Ireland locations of
Patisserie Valerie
Patisserie Valerie is a chain of cafés that operates in the United Kingdom. The chain specialises in cakes, and its menu included continental breakfasts, lunches and teas and coffees. The company went into administration in January 2019, prior t ...
were concessions located in Debenhams branches, and these closed when the parent chain entered administration.
The parent company (Debenhams plc) went into administration once again on 6 April 2020. On 9 April 2020, Debenhams Ireland confirmed to its employees that the company would no longer operate in the Republic of Ireland.
It said that stores would not reopen following the lifting of
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...
restrictions placed by the
Government of Ireland
The Government of Ireland ( ga, Rialtas na hÉireann) is the cabinet that exercises executive authority in Ireland.
The Constitution of Ireland vests executive authority in a government which is headed by the , the head of government. The governm ...
due to the impending uncertain economic conditions faced in Ireland. The company would file for liquidation during the week beginning 13 April 2020. Despite efforts to save Debenhams in Ireland in 2016, by separating Debenhams in the UK from Debenhams in Ireland, efforts to retain the Irish business had been unsuccessful. The closure of the stores in Ireland resulted in the loss of 1,400 direct jobs and a further 700 concession related jobs. The debenhams.ie website continued to trade until December 2020 when the company suspended it due to uncertainties over brexit and trade rules.
Closure of stores
In April 2020, with the parent company going into administration, it was announced that Debenhams Ireland stores—which were already temporarily closed due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
—would be permanently closed.
Stores permanently closed include:
*
Blackrock
BlackRock, Inc. is an American Multinational corporation, multi-national investment company based in New York City. Founded in 1988, initially as a Enterprise risk management, risk management and fixed income institutional asset manager, BlackR ...
(Dublin) (formerly Roches Stores Blackrock)
*
Blanchardstown
Blanchardstown () is a large outer suburb of Dublin in the modern county of Fingal, Ireland. Located northwest of Dublin city centre, it has developed since the 1960s from a small village to a point where Greater Blanchardstown is the largest u ...
(formerly Roches Stores Blanchardstown)
* Cork (Mahon Point)
* Cork (
St. Patrick's Street
St Patrick's Street ( ga, Sráid Naomh Pádraig) is the main shopping street of the city of Cork in the south of Ireland. The street was subject to redevelopment in 2004, and has since won two awards as Ireland's best shopping street. St Patrick ...
) (formerly Roches Stores Cork)
* Dublin (
Henry Street) (formerly Roches Stores Dublin)
*
Galway
Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a City status in Ireland, city in the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lo ...
(formerly Roches Stores Galway)
*
Limerick
Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...
(formerly Roches Stores Limerick)
*
Newbridge
*
Tallaght
)
, image_skyline = TallaghtDublinD24.jpg
, image_caption = Tallaght, Dublin
, image_flag =
, flag_size =
, pushpin_map = Dublin#Ireland
, pushpin_label_position = left
, ...
(formerly Roches Stores Tallaght)
*
Tralee
Tralee ( ; ga, Trá Lí, ; formerly , meaning 'strand of the Lee River') is the county town of County Kerry in the south-west of Ireland. The town is on the northern side of the neck of the Dingle Peninsula, and is the largest town in County ...
(formerly Roches Stores Tralee)
*
Waterford
"Waterford remains the untaken city"
, mapsize = 220px
, pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe
, pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe
, pushpin_relief = 1
, coordinates ...
(formerly Roches Stores Waterford)
The oldest store, in Cork's
St Patrick's Street
St Patrick's Street ( ga, Sráid Naomh Pádraig) is the main shopping street of the city of Cork in the south of Ireland. The street was subject to redevelopment in 2004, and has since won two awards as Ireland's best shopping street. St Patrick ...
, had been trading in that location for over 100 years.
Since the closures in April, workers have protested and prevented stock from being removed from all of the 11 stores, for last 400 plus days, as of May 2021, in order to secure 2+2 collectively agreed redundancy payments.
References
External links
*
Debenhams plc
{{authority control
Debenhams
Department stores of Ireland
Retail companies established in 1901
Retail companies disestablished in 2020
Companies based in Dublin (city)
1901 establishments in Ireland
2020 disestablishments in Ireland