Hundreds of Irish shoppers queued outside their local New Look stores at the weekend to shop the retailer’s liquidation sale.
The fashion retailer revealed last week that it would be closing down all 26 of its stores in the Republic of Ireland as it prepared to exit the market.
The shops, which shut briefly last week to prepare for the clearance sale, reopened on Sunday (23 February) selling stock at 50% to 70% off.
Videos circulating on TikTok show hundreds of consumers queuing outside stores in places such as Omni Shopping Centre in Dublin, Westend Shopping Park in Blanchardstown, Whitewater Shopping Centre in Newbridge, Gateway Shopping Park in Galway, Deerpark Retail Park in Killarney, Clonmel in Tipperary.
Some shoppers reported queuing for over an hour to get into their local branch.
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New Look, which employs 347 shop employees in Ireland, said the appointment of liquidators last week “was not taken lightly” but that the group concluded its Irish business was no longer viable following a strategic review.
“[The] Irish operation has struggled for some years, impacted by a range of factors including supply-chain and in-market costs, and squeezed consumer spending,” it said.
The high street retailer said it had attempted to adapt to the market, including marketing initiatives, store adaptations and price range trials. The group will now refocus investment on its UK business and digital offering.
@rachels_handmade_resin newlook closing in ireland…..crazy in blanchardstown today #shopping #newlook #newlookclosing #newlookblanchardstown #blanchardstown
https://www.tiktok.com/@keelyfarrell97/video/7474583813381754134
Alongside the queues, shoppers were informed they are unable to purchase from the New Look website today (24 February).
An email sent to shoppers on Sunday (February 23) evening explained that the website and app were temporarily down for a planned upgrade. The message, titled “important info about our site and app,” teased that “something is coming.”
The full email to customers read: “FYI, our site and app will be down from 11pm tonight [Sunday, Feb 23] till Monday evening while we carry out some exciting updates.”
A New Look spokesperson said: “Due to a planned system upgrade, our website and app are currently unavailable and will be back up and running soon. During this time, customers will not be able to make purchases online but are welcome to shop in-store as usual. We thank all our customers for their patience.”
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