ARGOS has announced it will close all of its stores in the Republic of Ireland this year.
The chain employs around 580 people in 34 stores across the country.
The high street chain will withdraw from Ireland completely on June 24.
UK stores will not be affected by the closures.
It made the decision to leave Ireland following “careful consideration” and a “thorough review” of its business and operations in the country.
Woman, 28, found dead in Cork flat was strangled by man she knew, Gardai believe
The company said it found that the investment required to develop and modernise the Irish part of its business was “not viable”.
It added that the money would be better invested in other parts of its business.
Argos said it will consult with staff and the trade union Mandate, and offer an “enhanced redundancy package” that goes “well beyond” its statutory obligations.
It said a “small number” of staff not eligible for redundancy under Irish law were set to receive a “one-off goodwill payment”.
The retailer will now begin the process of gradually winding down its Irish business and customers in Ireland will no longer be able to pay for orders via the Argos website or place orders via its home delivery service after March 22.
The aftersales, returns, refunds and exchanges policy will continue to apply until the stores close.
The chain said it was also committed to a programme of wider support to staff over the coming months.
Andy McClelland, Argos Ireland operations manager, said: “We understand this is difficult news for our customers and colleagues.
"As with any major change to our business, we have not made this decision lightly and we are doing everything we can to support those impacted.
"On behalf of everyone at Argos I would like to thank our colleagues, customers, suppliers and partners for their support to our business.”
Who can stop Willie Mullins? As concerns over his 'dominance' rise, bookies say three Festival chases are his to lose
Argos is owned by major supermarket Sainsbury's.
It comes as Sainsbury's announced today that Lloyd's Pharmacy is withdrawing its services from over 200 Sainsbury's stores.
Over recent years, many standalone UK Argos stores have closed and added inside Sainsbury's supermarkets.
The chain now has around 400 locations in the UK.
Here's the full list of Argos stores set to close in Ireland:
- Ashbourne Retail Park
- Athlone Argos
- Blanchardstown West End Argos
- Carlow Argos
- Castlebar Argos
- Cavan Argos
- Clonmel Argos
- Cork Mahon Argos
- Cork Retail Park Argos
- Drogheda Argos
- Dun Laoghaire Argos
- Dundalk Retail Park Argos
- Dundrum Argos
- Galway Argos
- Ilac Centre (Dublin) Argos
- Kilkenny Argos
- Killarney Argos
- Letterkenny Argos
- Liffey Valley Argos
- Limerick Childers Road Argos
- Longford Argos
- Monaghan Argos
- Naas Argos
- Navan Argos
- Omni Park (Dublin) Argos
- Portlaoise Argos
- Rathfarnham Nutgrove Argos
- Sligo Argos 4146
- St. Stephens Green (Dublin)
- Tallaght Argos
- Tralee Argos
- Tullamore Argos
- Waterford Argos
- Wexford Argos
It comes amid high street chaos as more brands collapsed last year after struggling to bounce back from the Covid pandemic.
Last week stationery chain Paperchase said that it is in talks with potential buyers after lining up administrators.
Major burger chain Byron Burger also recently fell into administration and is set to close nine restaurants immediately.
The owners of the chain has said the closures will result in the loss of 218 jobs.
Fashion company M&Co announced its collapse last year after losing the same battle "many retailers" have been fighting.
Wellies store Joules went under as well.
In December, pub chain Wetherspoons announced it would be closing a total of 39 pubs after being hit by soaring inflation.
Here, The Sun has put together a full list of retailers that closed last year.
Further popular chains including Las Iguanas, Cafe Rouge and Bella Italia also fell victim to the pandemic.
Online furniture firm Made.com also collapsed towards the end of last year after it failed to find a buyer.
Earlier this week Revolution bars announced that 20 of its venues will be closing their doors on Mondays and Tuesdays as, due to rising energy bills.
Around 4,500 pubs in the UK are considering reducing trading hours over winter, according to the British Beer and Pub Association.
Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing money-sm@news.co.uk
