Tower of strength

Tower Records have officially denied that their flagship Wicklow St. and Eason’s O’Connell St. concessions are to close.

Insisting that the performance of their Irish stores was strong, a spokesperson for the leading independent music retailer played down fears about the imminent closure of their Dublin outlets. Speaking to Hot Press, Louise Soloman from the London head office was unequivocal in her rejection of the rumours that have been circulating on the local industry grapevine.

"Our operation in Dublin is very robust," she stated. "In fact, over the last year we have seen consistent and exponential growth in both our sales and our market share in Ireland. We have an excellent management team there and are confident in the future of our Irish business. Our current closure plans do not include our two Irish stores."

Concerns had been raised when the closure of six Tower outlets in the UK was announced early this month, a major downsizing, which reduces their presence from eight cities to just two in what is still one of the biggest and most important markets in the world. However, Hot Press has learned that, while closure proposals do not currently include Irish Tower stores, the multinational music retailer is likely to seek a "future strategic partner or franchisee" in order to strengthen its remaining businesses both here and in the UK.

In response to the rumour that protective notice had been issued to staff, Soloman was also emphatic.

"No employees at our Dublin locations have been given their notice, nor have they been officially notified that their jobs are at risk. However, in order to maintain open, honest and fair communication, we felt it reasonable to inform our Irish staff of any possible outcome, in line with the communication plan we have implemented in the UK."