Smaller retail outlets are being bled dry

Sir, – My wife and I are involved in the retail of ladies’ fashion in Longford.

Our shop has been closed since the beginning of the year and it looks like it will be May before we can open. We are not even allowed to operate a “click and collect” facility.

We are trying to keep afloat with our new website but online sales only go so far.

Most clothing is considered non-essential, we are told, yet if you go into any supermarket that sells clothing and you will see rails and aisles full of “non-essential” clothing interspersed with the groceries.

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How is that fair? The supermarkets have been having a bumper time since the pandemic started and now they are trying to bleed the small retailers dry. We need a level playing field. – Yours sincerely,

PAUL HIGGINS,

Longford.