Naas businesses must take responsibility for their fate
OPINION

Don't blame Tesco for Naas's problems
I love meeting an expert in a field about which I know little. A couple of years ago I met Brian Lucey, a Sallins resident, Kerry man and Professor of Finance at Trinity College.
During the course of a lengthy discussion he was talking about how erroneous is was to think that a government was responsible for creating jobs.
“A government can't create jobs. Only customers create jobs.”
It was an interesting change of perspective. And yet blindingly obvious. It stands to reason that if you have nobody buying your products, then you don't have a viable business.
I was reminded of this in recent days following a discussion in the office here about which towns in the county (and outside it) were good to live in.
And more to the point, why? What made one town an attractive or less attractive place to live, over an above other towns?
And of course, into this discussion came the great canard of our times, the Bette Noir of all such musings: “They've ruined Naas, moving all the business out to Tesco.”
The dreaded and anonymous 'They' - who are also responsible for every terrible thing to afflict the plain people of Ireland - like the price of the pint, the state of the roads and probably even the bad weather.
The truth of the matter is that businesses fail because they run out of customers. And they run out of customers because what they offer is no longer unique enough to attract customers.
To use dreadful corporate phraseology, the 'value proposition has diminished'. There is no 'unique selling point (USP)'.
There are businesses along the main street in Naas which are thriving, notwithstanding all that the shopping hub in Monread has to offer.
Whether it's pubs and restaurants, boutiques, opticians, betting shops, insurance companies, pharmacies, banks or newsagents, they are somehow able to combat the lack of free parking by offering customers something they can't get somewhere else.
The sad reality is that any business which goes belly up, and blames a large retail park for their demise, just wasn't cutting the mustard with customers.
Sometimes it's simply a case of moving with the times - for instance there was once a time when every half decent sized town had a mill and a bakery.
As a result of modern day food production methods, this is now no longer the case — in the same way that mobile phones killed off phoneboxes.
That's life. Move on, get into something else that's attractive to customers.
These days, with Supervalu, Tesco, Lidl and Aldi dominating the scene you're probably at nothing if you try to get into straightforward groceries. So instead you start offering organic vegetables, speciality foods and a coffee shop with great atmosphere attached - like Swans on the Green has done.
That's a sensible approach to a situation that is otherwise beyond the retailers' control.
On the other hand if you're an Olympic-class whinger, complaining daily to your local chamber of commerce, councillor and the small to medium sized whingers association, then you've already lost.
True business success comes from being flexible and light on your feet, from being realistic about where opportunities lie, and more to the point, where they don't.
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Tony
Clarke
17:05, 23 August 2016
Conor, Interesting article. As a matter of interest have you ever run a business? I find it bit disingenuous of you to refer business people trying to eke a living after some very tough years as Olympic class whingers when they are making valid points. As a consumer who tries to shop local, I find the parking in Naas is atrocious . Since the car park at the back of Market Square was lost it has been a major feat to find parking in the town mid week. I avoid the town centre like the plague Monday to Friday . Free parking in Monread adds to the issue. At weekends we have free all day parking , however , again try to find parking in the town @ 10:00 on a Saturday - not easy but i persist because I like Nolan's Meat and The local fish shop. Normally I end up parking in one of the paying car parks. 2 hour's free parking on a Saturday would be a far better idea and has been suggested by the whingers but to no avail. Yes all business's have a life cycle and those that don't change die, but legislators have an obligation to ensure they the correct infrastructure in place to facilitate business and job creation. Yes some businesses need to change drastically but others have tried and it has not worked. Swan's is a great example of a business that has adapted and Supervalu seem to be trading well also. However, they do not seem to have the same issue with parking as businesses at the opposite end of the town. Maybe a more balanced article would have been fairer ! Tony Clarke
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