Small retail businesses, many of them owned and managed by several generations of the same family, are the backbone of Kilkenny’s economy.
Kilkenny has over 930 retail businesses, and together they employ over 3,800 people. This makes it the third largest employment sector in the city and county, behind healthcare in first spot and manufacturing in second place.
These businesses are dotted along the city’s High Street, history-steeped side streets and picturesque laneways, all within walking distance of one another and all only a stone’s throw from Kilkenny’s centrally located car parks, locally-owned cafes, bars, restaurants and hotels. It all makes for a uniquely intimate retail experience and copper-fastens Kilkenny’s appeal as a destination for discerning shoppers, retailers say.
City-centre retailer and newly-appointed Chamber President, Anne Barber, said many of the customers who come into her gift shop, ‘Butterslip’ www.butterslip.com, and surrounding retailers are on a mission-driven shopping experience. She said that an ongoing partnership with Kilkenny County Council to promote the city’s unique retail offering will provide a welcome boost.
“Kilkenny has an absolutely brilliant retail offering. It’s compact. It’s clean. It’s easy to walk around. There are always challenges but we are doing so many things right and we get amazing feedback from destination shoppers. We have a great catchment area, just over an hour from Dublin and less than two hours from Cork, so it’s perfect for a day trip!”
Hotelier and chair of the City Centre Task Force, Colin Ahern, said a successful and sustainable Tourism Industry in Kilkenny is dependent on a vibrant retail economy and vice versa.
“Kilkenny’s success has always been built on strong co-operation between retail and tourism and thankfully our retail offering here remains as unique and diverse as the City we live in.”
Third generation of Goods now at the helm
While staff turnover is a major issue in the modern retail environment, it’s absolutely not an issue for one third generation Kilkenny retailer who is edging towards 100 years in business.
Up until a couple of months ago, three staff at Goods of Kilkenny had worked in the renowned High Street fashion outlet for over 50 years each. Two remain and while one has plans to retire the other long-serving member has absolutely no intention of calling it a day.
For generations, Goods of Kilkenny has been a one stop shopping destination for fashion for women and children of all ages. The third generation business first opened in 1927 and today, it is managed by Heidi Good, whose grandfather, Harry Good, founded the family business.
She took over from her father, Vivian, who has taken a back seat but still offers his pearls of wisdom as required.
“Today, I run the business in the role of Managing Director, my sister Mandy, a Director, works a day a week with me and our Dad is there to offer his wisdom. My grandfather opened up a shoe business in 90 High Street. Some years on he purchased 88 High Street and started to sell men’s and women’s fashion, lingerie and haberdashery.
“My father took over the business in the 1960s. He bought another building that is the length of St Mary’s lane. Over the next 20 years, he dug out a basement and built on 2 floors, giving Goods its 4 floors. Up until 2004, Goods was a traditional department store with cookshop, linens, men’s, ladies, kids fashion and shoes.
“In 2004, the company took a whole new direction and became a dedicated store for women.
The store was completely renovated and took a year to complete. Many well-known High street brands came into our store as concessions, while keeping some of the departments under our own management: Lingerie, Cosmetics and Kids clothing.
“In the intervening years, some of our concession partner companies closed down. Our response was to give more space to Hobbs, Phase Eight & Whistles, bringing them up to the top grade. This meant our customers have the premium selection from these fabulous brands. We also gave more space to a very successful Irish owned shop – Choice Boutique. We opened up an Accessories Department selling gifts and handbags and our own-bought women’s fashion department offering quality with affordable prices. These brands include Benetton, B Young, Kaffe & YAS. Today we also have the largest lingerie department in the entire south east,” Heidi revealed.
It is so important when there are family members involved in a business that there are clear lines of responsibility, good communication, a ready willingness to listen to those who have years of experience and faced many challenges in their time and that if there are disagreements in business matters, they are left in the workplace and not brought into home life, Heidi said.
“I am blessed to have both my dad and my sister working with me in the roles they have in the business. We get on great and moments of tension can always be deflected with a good dose of humour.
“Like many other businesses, Goods has faced many challenges over the decades it has been in business: mass emigration in the 1980s; the global crash 2007 onwards; Covid; increased living costs; competition. And the only way to plough through any of those challenges is to do something. If you do nothing, you’ll be dead in the water. The key is do something…anything! It may not be a quick fix but it puts in motion an energy that gets you through those challenges.
“During Covid we fast-tracked getting our product up online. During cost-of-living crisis, we kept our margins low so that the customer would not be hit with increased prices and encourage them to shop and to continue to enjoy shopping.”
Like so many parts of medieval Kilkenny, there is a lot of history in the walls of the High Street store. “My aunt, Sylvia, was born here as my grandparents were living over the shop for the first few years of their marriage. Part of what is now Quiz on the ground floor, used to be my grandfather’s office. In the 1930s to 1950s, staff used to live over the shop. Some were as young as 15 or 16…it was an apprenticeship. My dad still has letters, written to my grandfather, giving their child permission to go to a dance. Different times! Definitely different times,” she concluded.
