A Clare clothing retailer says many small businesses will be “batting down the hatches” to survive this year.
It comes as the latest CSO figures show the Consumer Price Index rose by 3.4% in the last 12 months which is only the fourth time since September 2021 that the annual growth has been below 5%.
The only divisions to record a decline when compared with February 2023 were Clothing & Footwear at 3.6% and Furnishings, Household Equipment & Routine Household Maintenance at 0.2%.
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Patrick Bourke of Patrick Bourke’s Menswear in Kilrush and Ennis says, however, the small shops will not be thriving in this market.
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