Donnybrook Fair and UK retailer Hotel Chocolat both to close stores in Dublin

In another indication of the difficult environment for retail in central Dublin, Donnybrook Fair has closed its outlet on Baggot Street.

In a statement the company said: “Donnybrook Fair can confirm that the difficult decision has been made to close its store on Baggot Street. All staff were offered a role in one of our other Donnybrook Fair stores with no impact on their terms and conditions.”

The company, which was established by the Doyles in 1991 and bought by Musgraves four years ago, has another branch at nearby Morehampton Road in Donnybrook, which was recently revamped. It also has outlets in Malahide, Dundrum, Stillorgan, and Greystones in Co Wicklow.

Retail in central Dublin has not bounced back from the pandemic, due to the rise in hybrid working and also the increased migration to online shopping.

Hotel Chocolat, which was acquired by Mars last year in a £534m (€642m) deal, has cited the changed retail environment for its decision. It opened a store in Dundrum in 2017 and one on Henry Street in central Dublin in 2018.

“Over the past five years, the operating environment within the Republic of Ireland has changed significantly, which has led us to make the difficult decision to close our two stores in the Republic of Ireland – Dundrum and Henry Street – on 31 December, 2024,” Lysa Hardy, the Hotel Chocolat chief executive for the UK and Ireland, told customers in an email in recent days.

“I would like to thank you for your support as a customer and reassure you that we are continuing to explore ways in which we can ship internationally.”

In the year to the start of July 2023, the company behind the two stores generated revenue of £1.37m (€1.56m) and a pre-tax profit of £42,000. The previous year it posted revenue of £1.2m and a £635,000 pre-tax profit.

Hotel Chocolat was founded in 2004 by Angus Thirlwell and Peter Harris. In 2006, they bought a cacao farm in St Lucia in the Caribbean and opened a luxury boutique hotel on the estate.

By the time the company floated in London’s Alternative Investment Market in 2016, it had just over 80 outlets in the UK. The stock market flotation earned the founders £20m each and valued the business at £167m. By 2021, it was worth more than £700m.

Efforts to expand the company’s geographic footprint proved difficult, as it struggled with the manufacturing logistics to support overseas growth.

The deal to sell the company to Mars netted the founders about £140m each. Family-owned Mars produces the eponymous chocolate bar as well as brands such as M&Ms, Skittles and Snickers.

Meanwhile, New Zealand-based Cooks Coffee is planning to open four more of its Esquires coffee shops in Ireland in coming months, three in Cork and one in Limerick. It’s understood the company is aiming to open cafes in Midleton, Mallow, Raheen and Carrigaline.

Cooks Coffee already operates 15 Esquires locations in Ireland and is also planning to open an additional outlet in Bagenalstown in Co Carlow in the first quarter of 2025.