Louis Copeland & Sons opens its doors
By Aislinn O'Connor
“I’ll have to get a Cork accent!”
That's the reaction of Louis Copeland who recently opened his first store on Leeside. The new store on Academy Street and French Church Street opened on 25 October and is Louis' seventh store in Ireland.
His son, Louis Copeland Junior, who works alongside his father, says: “The Cork store is a step up from the other stores, it is a contemporary store with some antique pieces of furniture. The Cork store will also feature the Hugo Boss range which is presently not available in other Louis Copeland stores.
“The shop has been in the works for two year,” said Louis Jr.
“Cork customers who have been up and down to Dublin the past few years have been crying out for a Cork store, so if the mountain won’t go to Muhammad, then Muhammad must go to the mountain,” continues Louis Sr.
The move came after a series of made to measure events Louise Copeland & Sons held in Hayfield Manor, an event which proved to be very popular with Cork clientele with Louis Jr saying he himself had great memories of coming down to Cork with his father and family when he was younger.
Louis Jr and and Nigel O’Sullivan will be looking after the Cork store. “I am getting a bit old now, so Louis Jr is going to take over,” Louis Sr explains.
The Copelands have dressed many famous Cork men up in their Dublin stores, including Roy Keane and Ronan O’Gara and have played their own part in Cork's retail history. In the 1930s, Louis Copeland Sr's grandfather made the move to Cork to give a helping hand to Dunnes Stores founder, Ben Dunne, in Roches Stores before returning to Dublin to continue working for the family business.
The Copelands have always worked closely together in the family business and Louis Copeland Senior and Junior are no exception. “We do different things but we still talk everyday,” says Louis Jr.
Louis Sr is stationed in his flagship store on Capel Street in Dublin while Louis Jr travels between the different stores. The Cork store’s main focus will be on made-to-measure and ready made suits and business casual clothing such as jeans, chinos and blazers.
With the successful opening of the Cork store, the Copelands are looking forward to meeting customers, new and old, with Louis Jr concluding that “it will be great to meet the people of Cork, we're really looking forward to getting to know everyone!”