Oliver Bonas: Boss says Brexit ‘teething problems’ holding back Irish expansion
The founder of homeware store Oliver Bonas has complained of the “teething problems” related to Brexit, which is making it difficult to grow his brand in Ireland.
Olly Tress told The Times that the firm’s expansion plans in the country are “oven ready,” but the fallout from Brexit has made it “hard and expensive to run stores there.”
For now, Oliver Bonas has just one store in the Republic of Ireland in Dublin, with a separate site in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
The comments come after the government signed the so-called Windsor Framework in February, which looks to ease post-Brexit trade between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK.
Tress also said he is looking to expand his presence in the UK, with a current portfolio of over 80 sites.
“People seem to want to shop on the high street again,” Bonas said, noting a shift from pandemic habits when shoppers were forced to shop online.
“We’ve spent an eye-watering amount of money on refitting our shops — figures that I couldn’t have conceived years ago — but it means they’re going to look good in ten years’ time,” he said.