A retail industry group has predicted that more than 400 stores will have closed during January as sales continued to fall.
Retail Excellence Ireland said sales in the final three months of 2010 were down 3.6% from the same period a year earlier, though this was a smaller fall than in previous quarters. But the body said the third week in January had been 'the worst week for retail in recent years'.
'Concern continues to grow regarding untenable rent and labour costs,' said REI chief executive David Fitzsimons. He added that the severe weather affected the main shopping destinations in cities more severely, as consumers shopped locally.
Mr Fitzsimons also said Budget measures were likely to reduce people's disposable income further, while the current political uncertainty was likely to hamper any immediate prospects for a return to sales growth.
A breakdown of the REI figures showed that footwear was the only sector to record growth in the last quarter of 2010. Sales grew by 3% from a year earlier, as people bought footwear to cope with the bad weather. Ladieswear was the worst performing sector, with an 8.6% drop.
