70 part-time and full-time jobs have been lost following the closure of a locally-owned supermarket in Nenagh, Co Tipperary.
O'Connors Nenagh Shopping Centre Limited ceased operation today.
Spokesperson Rory O'Connor confirmed the family owned store, which opened 36 years ago, 'needed restructuring and refinancing'.
'We had been looking at this for the past three months but we could not find investors to keep the business afloat.'
'It's a very sad day for the staff - who have been here for a long time - and for customers arriving here this morning like they do every Thursday and Friday - it is very sad,' said Mr O'Connor.
Mr O'Connor was meeting customers as they arrived to the Shopping Centre to do their weekly shopping to inform they about the closure this morning.
'They are very sad. They were good customers and have being coming here for a many, many years'.
Mr O'Connor said changes in the grocery market, whereby independent trade has fallen away, led to the difficulties.
He said peoples' shopping habits in north Tipperary have changed.
'More people are going to out of town developments and to shopping areas in Limerick,' Mr O'Connor said.
Chairman of Nenagh Peter Ryan said 'it's a really sad day for Nenagh and reflects what is happening to independently owned businesses through the country'.
'Multiples are taking the lifeblood out of small towns,' Mr Ryan added.
Other shops in the Nenagh Shopping Centre Complex remain open for business. However, O'Connor's Shopping Centre Ltd owns the complex and has been the main anchor tenant for the past 36 years.
