Bright Christmas for Cavan retailers

As 2019 gets underway, Cavan retailers look back on a year of growth, but are conscious of the potential impact the UK's withdrawal from the EU will have in the coming 12 months.
Patrick Boyle of Boyles for Men says there was a brisk trade during the festive season: “We were happy at the end of it. As always Christmas is very, very challenging.”
The men's clothing store has three outlets in Cootehill, Cavan and Monaghan. Throughout December sales were consistent. “You really don't know where you are until the last day. It turned out to be quite a good Christmas for ourselves, so we can't complain on that front,” Patrick told the Celt.
“Trading has been up for the last number of years. It's been mirroring the economy with the way growth has been developing. We have had positive figures for the last number of years, but next year will be challenging,” he said. 
Lisa Pepper of Off The Rack in Cootehill echoes the assessment of the seasonal retail trade: “It has been very good, we've been busy.”
Though there are palpable improvements in the volume of customers, there are also challenges. “This will be our third Christmas in business. It was the best so far, definitely. A lot of shop owners have sales throughout the year. It's making it harder, because there are constantly sales on, particularly when you are competing with online retailers,” Lisa explained.
Traders across the region are concerned by the question mark Brexit casts over any 2019 predictions. Planning for the unknown is part and parcel for all local businesses. The main challenges for the coming year is easily identified. “Confidence, consumer confidence,” Patrick says, “I don't want to harp on about Brexit, but it's a significant factor in business planning. People just don't know where we are going to be at. It could be a good thing, if it doesn't turn out to be disastrous. I don't anticipate a 'spring back', but it might be steady. We simply don't know what it is going to be like next year. Every industry is the same.”
Lisa finds herself in a similar situation. “We don't know what is going to come out of it or how it's going to affect us. You have to be prepared. You have to be conscious of where your suppliers are from.
“Because of our online presence we have customers from every county. We have orders from Dubai, Canada, New York, England and Scotland. Clearly Brexit is going to have an impact,” she says of the future.
For both retailers the return to work came right after Christmas Day. Boyles For men opened for the annual sale on St Stephen's Day: “The way trading patterns are these last number of years, it is very important for us to get back and started early. We find there is a lot of footfall right after Christmas Day.”
Lisa also started her sale last Thursday. “We were busy yesterday. We use all our social media; Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and our website to promote what we do. We are open seven days a week all year around. It's a lot of work, but it has to be done. We are still in the early stages of our businesses. It's important to build and get your message out there,” she concluded.