Argos to close after 20 years

The closure of a store in one of Cork’s most historic buildings has been described as “a very sad state of affairs” for the city centre.

Argos, located in the former Queen’s Old Castle department store on Grand Parade, is set to close its doors after more than 20 years on the site.

A statement from the company confirmed that the store will close in November, and that it would “offer colleagues the opportunity to redeploy to their nearest store where possible”.

The planned closure of one of Cork’s longest serving stores is a blow for the city centre, while the other Argos stores in the county are located in Blackpool and Mahon.

While it is not known how many staff will be affected, its closure will also leave a significant space empty in the heart of Cork city, on a site which has a long and rich history having previously served as a jail in medieval times and as a prominent department store.

It is also one of the few stores in the centre to survive the Black and Tans’ burning of Cork in 1920.
Speaking on behalf of the recently formed Cork City Centre Traders Association, city trader Susan Ryan said: “Cork City Traders was set up by a number of small, independent traders, precisely because we can see things like this coming down the track.
“The closure of Argos in Cork city is a very, very sad state of affairs, and is indicative of the attitude of the city centre in its traffic management plan. When the big boys are falling, small businesses like us don’t stand a chance.
“When a large company with a good, proven business model struggles on a high street of a main city and no longer works, staff redundancies and all the upset that causes, what chance do the small, one man operations have in a city with ongoing poor management?”