Sports chain Elverys acquires Cork's iconic former Roches Stores premises
City's Of Patrick's Debenhams The One Key Former Cork The St At Picture Store Is Locations , Considered Minihane St Retail Denis
THE purchase of Cork city centre’s iconic Debenhams/Roches Store building on Patrick’s Street has been confirmed to the Irish Examiner by Irish sports retail chain Intersport/Elverys.
A reopening of the front portion of the most significant retail building on the city’s main thoroughfare, vacant since Debenhams vacated three years ago, is scheduled for later in 2023, the company has indicated it will include a flagship store for the Irish-owned company, as well as a ‘click and collect’ service for its e-commerce activity, with the firm employing 700 across 47 Irish stores, including several it already operates in Cork.
Speaking on the acquisition of the high-profiled property on 1.6 acres in the heart of the city’s shopping district, Intersport Elverys CEO Patrick Rowland said: “We are hugely proud to become part of Cork city’s bustling retail community once again and are really looking forward to restoring some history and excitement to Patrick’s Street.
The successful building purchase, likely to be for close to €12 million, well below the €20m initially sought by agents Cushman & Wakefield, rekindles an Elverys link to Patrick Street, as Elverys had a premises at No 78 on the far end of the street up to several decades ago.
Ironically, the Cork Elverys store of old had a large carving of an elephant displayed over the front door of No 78 Patrick Street, and the continuing vacancy at the very large and prominent Debenhams building over a three-year period and through post-covid retail recovery in smaller outlets had been described as “the elephant in the room,” by selling agent Peter O’Flynn of Cushman & Wakefield.
Now, the elephant is back in the game.
Founded in 1847 and Ireland’s oldest sports company, Intersport/Elverys was taken over by Staunton Sports back in 1998 after it had run into trading difficulties and has expanded significantly since in the sports and leisure sector, in the face of other Irish and overseas competition.
Among Elverys Munster stores are ones at 120 Oliver Plunkett Street, 150 metres from the Debenham’s purchase, and another at the Kinsale Road Retail Centre.
“Cork city, like Intersport Elverys, is hugely invested in local community and sport and we have an unwavering belief in the area’s potential, which is evident in this strategic expansion,” said CEO Mr Rowland, saying the store on Cork’s main shopping boulevard would create a number of local full-time and part-time jobs.
Other uses and users are likely to be revealed for the balance of the very sizeable former department store, known still to generations as ‘Roches,’ which was rebuilt after the burning of Cork in the 1920s and which was again upgraded in 2005.
An earlier counter bidder on the 150,000 sq ft Debenhams property was another sports chain, the UK- based Sport Direct controlled by Mike Ashley, linked to the Fraser Group and who has a clothing store, Flannels opening shortly opposite Cork’s Debenhams in the former Eason building.
“The closure of what is one of the city’s landmark buildings left a huge void to be filled and we are looking forward to breathing new life into it by offering an exceptional shopping experience with the creation of this flagship store,” said Elverys’ Mr Rowland of their Debenhams’s city store acquisition, adding “it will create a number of local full-time and part-time employment opportunities.” “Work is expected to commence on Phase 1 of the building immediately and we hope to officially open the doors in late 2023,” he said.
The move comes in the face of intense competition in the sports retail sector, with Decathlon looking for a Cork presence, but outside the city core, and Sports Direct opened in the former Debenhams Cork store in suburban Mahon Point last year, with a Frasers store underneath.
Elverys’ move into a central physical store in the epicentre of one of the country’s strongest sporting counties is notable. Spokesperson Ger Flanagan said “being so hugely invested in both local sport and local community and we feel this expansion into the proud city of Cork holds immense significance for our brand. We aim to create a destination that not only offers a wide-range of top sporting goods but also a hub for sports lovers and enthusiasts in Cork.”