The last of the newsagents

I read a story in the paper this morning about the newsagents in Monkstown-Hewett’s- closing its doors after 75 years.

I am not surprised, although I am saddened.

What is surprising is that there are any newsagents left.

When I started out in business first in 1986 a good newsagents, ideally located in a shopping centre, was the holy grail for small retailers.

You had a franchise, because being a newsagent meant you had the seal of approval, and supplies, from the likes of the Irish Times, Independent Newspapers, Easons and Newspread.

You also had good margins and decent working hours. And if you were lucky enough to be located in a shopping centre you were on the pig’s back with reasonable trading hours, dictated by the shopping centre.

Now you will get it hard to find any pure newsagents left in the country.

It was inevitable, given the reading and news consumption habits of people nowadays.

It is still sad, however. The passing of an era.