‘If people aren’t careful there won’t be any local shops left’

Better Buys is to close its doors for good after 32 years of service once an ongoing clear-out sale is completed, according to the owner.

The discount store has sold everything from wallets, toys and fancy dress costumes to fleadh jerseys since it first opened on Oliver Plunkett Street in 1991.

Owner Seamus Hennessy said the store is “just not busy enough” to keep open anymore, as he thanked his loyal customers for their support down through the years.

Mr Hennessy told the Westmeath Examiner that independent retailers are “few and far between” now in modern Ireland.

“If people aren’t careful there won’t be any local shops left,” he said.

“Sometimes local shops can be a little bit more expensive but everything you spend there goes back into the local economy.

“With these multinationals, you will find that all of their money is going back to the UK, or wherever else.”

Mullingar is a very different place to do business now than when the store first opened, according to Mr Hennessy.

“If you look at the Main Street in Mullingar, you can count the number of local businesses left quite quickly,” he said.

“We’re holding on to the shop in Tullamore where we have been for 26 years.

“Tullamore is just a busier town, from our experience, and in our store there at least.”

Mr Hennessy said independent stores “thrive on customer service” that is non-existent in international corporations.

“The main message I want to get home is people have to support local,” he said.

“Price sometimes shouldn’t come into it because, if you look at the local economy, I’m employing local staff who are keeping money in the town – they spend that money in other businesses and so on.

“Some multinationals have their staff on zero hour contracts now, which is no good to anybody.

“Staff have no PRSI or holiday entitlements, they could be working 20 hours one week and have nothing the next – everything has changed.”

Mr Hennessy said Better Buys’ long history in Mullingar is thanks to its loyal customers.

“It’s sad for me to be leaving them,” he said.

“I’d like to thank all of the customers for supporting us so well over the years - we’ve had a lot of the same people coming in from the beginning.

“We have some customers who came in, then their children came in after them, their grandchildren then, and so on.”

The owner added that his experience of running Better Buys “has been great” from the beginning and it’s unfortunate to come to an end.