"Our bricks and mortar has to tighten up but we need to ensure the customer experience remains right." Karen Millen Dresses 19 September 2012 Have modern times caught up with Clerys? The iconic meeting place that served generations as a reminder of
how late you are for your date, clocked up debts of €26m and announced receivership on Monday, only to be rescued by American investors. What is the fate of the flailing department store as it moves into unchartered territory?Although this is
not Wall Street, and the Gordon Brothers are not Gordon Gekko, many are in the grip of fear that the tradition of Clerys Tea Rooms and the emblematic clock are in danger of getting the chop by profit-driven executives unconcerned with the
significance of the department store in Irish history and culture. Karen Millen Coat Since 1853, Ireland's first purpose-built department store has weathered three changes in ownership, two encounters with receivership, and being blown to smithereens
in the 1916 Rising. Surely a historical institution such as this can find a firm place in Dublin's retail future. So how did a department store offering 600 brands -- over 90 in womenswear alone -- end up on the sale rack? The answer could lie in
Clerys' focus on being all things to all people. Though the store underwent a cosmetic makeover at a cost of €24m, presenting a fresh face in 2004, the underlying message to the browser is a brand that knows neither itself nor the customer.
Where Brown Thomas and Debenhams bookend the upper and lower ends of the market, each has a distinct idea of who walks through its doors. Understanding who you are selling to and what they want is an intrinsic element of success in retail. You can
lick your walls with brilliant white paint and install spotlights until the cows come home, but if the product mix isn't right, the customer doesn't know what to buy. There seems to be a blur of brands aimed at every demographic, with four cafes and
restaurants to boot. Karen Millen Skirts With too much floor space given over to dining and refreshments, the rest is left to compete for the shopper's rolling attention. The product mix is in part jaded, and elsewhere singing the high street's tune.
The issue for Clerys is that there is nothing within its walls that gives it an edge over its perceived competition -- thus rendering it out of the race. A department store needs some exclusivity in what it offers in order to draw a customer in the
door to buy products they could easily buy from standalone stores such as Oasis, Mango and Karen Millen. Karen Millen DressesOakley Sunglasses
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Let's hope the bride doesn't feel caught in a rat trap now that she's married into the Firm. Karen Millen Outlet Oliver Caffrey, an old Pukha pal of Prince Charles, was celebrating in Paris "They are a great couple," he said. "I think they have a
real chance of a long and happy marriage like the queen and the duke of Edinburgh, and I admire the queen for coming to Ireland, too." Maybe now we'll admit to being the royalists that we are.'I live in a rural area, so I have to go further afield to
get something for a special occasion. I suppose the ideal place to go shopping is Dublin because it has all the shops."Katie Dempsey, 20, from Ballyadams, Co Laois, is a full-time student, self-confessed shopaholic and devoted fashionista. Her
obstacles to style, including distance and budget, are eclipsed by her vehement need to reconcile her girlie side with her not so girlie sporting life. Karen Millen Dresses New Arrival The best way to explain this contrast when it comes to style is
by Katie's choice of college course -- Sports Science and Exercise GAA with PR and Communications -- at IT Carlow. "I'm all for comfort, so I wouldn't be into high fashion, because I'm in college and my lifestyle is running around basically," she
tells me. "With the Sports Science, I have to wear tracksuits most of the time. We get fined €2 in college if we don't wear our college coaching gear. I bring a top and jeans with me in a bag, so I can change afterwards, because I hate walking
around college looking like a boy," she exclaims, barely drawing breath. Katie loves fashion and so when she gets the opportunity, she goes all out. "Any chance I get to dress up, I do and I love accessorising," she says. "I love Karen Millen, so for
a special occasion I love shopping there or in Coast." She then ponders for a moment before adding: "I do love boutiques too." For a more unique outcome, Katie often visits some local boutiques. "There are a few boutiques I like locally," she says.
"Amber Sky, a boutique in Carlow run by Tanyia Deane, is great. "Tanyia could look at you and know what will suit you, whereas if you go into a normal high-street shop, you can be lost. I like multi-functional clothes, like a nice dress that you can
also throw a pair of jeans under." This multi-functional approach to clothing is key for a busy student like Katie, who volunteers with Dublin PR firm Fleishman Hillard and teaches a circuit-training class for local women in Ballyadams. "I love
Vivienne Westwood," she says. "She's really cool and risky. She's kind of crazy. It's what I'd go for if I ever found myself on the red carpet or something," Katie tells me of her aspirations toward high-fashion buys, but for the moment, at least,
she is keeping very much to the high street. "I love Warehouse, too, Topshop, River Island," Katie continues, beginning to giggle at her own lack of brand loyalty. "They're kind of reliable. Sometimes you can go into boutiques and there is nothing.
Karen Millen Coats It depends on the season." Katie is a proud member of Ireland's vast Penneys posse. "I go to Penneys all the time," she says. "I'm a typical student, in that I do have a budget, so I don't have a lot of money to buy clothes. "When
the sales come around, I shop, but at the same time I'm not great at delving into baskets for things -- they still have to look nicely presented." As a not so seasoned shopper, Katie is also keen to point out the importance of dressing one's age.
"When you're 20, you want to look like you're 20," she concludes. "A lot of girls dress either too old or too young. Karen Millen Evening Dress
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