Yesterday, news broke that the Penneys store in Rathfarnham Shopping Centre would be closing its doors for the last time in the new year.
The store, which has been open for 28 years, operates alongside 32 other stores in the centre.
Today, the company released a statement regarding the closure, explaining the reasons behind the decision.
It reads, "Penneys confirms that its Rathfarnham Shopping Centre store, located in Dublin 14, will close in February 2020.
"All employees in Penneys Rathfarnham have been informed and everyone has been offered relocation opportunities at nearby Dublin stores.
"In recent years, Penneys has invested in enhancing its customer offering and experience in six Dublin stores with new shop-floor refurbishment and refits, new visual merchandising, fitting rooms, access to free Wifi, recharge areas and customer seating areas.
"Customers of the Rathfarnham store are well serviced by the Nutgrove store (also in Rathfarnham) which was completely refurbished in 2017, and nearby stores Dundrum and Liffey Valley, due to their close proximity.
"In light of these factors, and as the lease is due to expire in Rathfarnham, the company has made a commercial decision to close this 9,400 sq ft store."
After yesterday's news, Fianna Fail TD John Lahart explained how he was going to work to ensure that the closure didn't have a major negative impact on the surrounding businesses.
He wrote on Twitter, "Very unfortunate news that Penneys in Rathfarnham is to close after 28years. Massive blow for the Rathfarnham Shopping Centre and surrounding area. Penneys is a huge draw to the shopping centre and I will be doing all I can to ensure that a new tenant is found for the premises ASAP."
https://twitter.com/JohnLahart/status/1184387678944550912?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1184387678944550912&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Flovindublin.com%2Fnews%2Fsouth-dublin-penneys-announces-closure
Locals also expressed how saddened they were by the news. One wrote on Twitter, "That is so sad and a massive blow".
