Only one week after the eventual opening of the Dublin branch of the Anne Summers lingerie chain, Dublin Corporation have issued the company with a writ which will effectively close the store within twenty-eight days. Although an appeal against the Corporation s decision is pending, management and staff are at a genuine loss as to the exact nature of the Corporation s objection. The latest arrow in the Corporation s quiver is an allegation that as the shop has plans to include an instore coffee station, which changes the nature of the store s operation, it is in breach of planning law.
Also, although planning permission for a neon sign at the O Connell St site was applied for well in advance of the stores opening, a decision has not yet been given and the store is presently without the sign. Despite this apparent invisibility, over twenty thousand Dubliners have visited Anne Summers in it s first weekend in operation.
Upon entering the store, it s difficult to see what all the fuss is about. The lingerie clad mannequins in the window are exactly like those that regularly grace the windows of BT s, M&S and Clerys. Admittedly, inside the store the type of female undergarments on offer range from the raunchy to the downright ridiculous, but there s nothing here you can t buy elsewhere in Dublin. Although novelty items such as chocolate body paint and hen-night kits are available, the management have not yet taken a decision as to whether or not the Dublin branch of the chain will stock sex toys . Erotic books of the Black Lace variety, written by and for women, are available here, but a similar range is stacked in Eason and Sons across the street, incidentally.
Manager Kerry Allon is bemused by the furore.
We really weren t expecting all this fuss, he explains. Our store in Belfast has been open for eighteen months and we haven t had any problems up north. Moving into Dublin was something we had planned to do for some time, and ironically it was the location on O Connell St that finally convinced us to come over. Although the attitude of the corporation is puzzling, the customers who re coming in have been really supportive, and we ve even started a petition at the suggestion of one lady, to keep the store open. We ve had over three thousand signatures to date. We have had visits from several councillors but again nobody is voicing specific complaints.
The Anne Summers chain opened their first store in London in 1972. Currently there are twenty-three stores all over the UK, Australia, and Ireland, the Dublin premises being the biggest in terms of floor space and expected revenue. Customer base is seventy per cent female, and the company is predominantly staffed by women, headed by MD Jacqueline Gold. The ethos of the company is to provide a safe, up-market, high street environment in which women can have fun with sex and sexuality. The company are also patrons of the Breast Cancer Campaign, with between twenty-five and one hundred per cent of profits on selected lines going to the campaign. All in all, then, it s a sophisticated, creditable and obviously highly profitable venture, so why are Dublin Corporation coming down so heavily on Anne Summers?
On a recent Late Late Show, Jacqueline Gold eloquently explained her position to Pat Kenny. Representatives of the Corporation in the audience spoke of a five-year plan , in relation to the development of O Connell St, and stated that an Anne Summers store did not fit in with that project. Why the store was singled out was not explained. While Dublin Corporation have stated that they have received a number of complaints regarding the store, no specific details of complaints or complainants have been released.
Speculation on the nature of these objections has been discussed at length in the mainstream media. Kevin Myers of the Irish Times questioned the authority of a City Corporation who have allowed the traffic situation in Dublin to descend into chaos, while apparently devoting money, time and energy into closing down an underwear shop. More outlandish theories include the view that because the store is opposite the GPO, the ghosts of the heroes of the Easter Rebellion might be offended by the sight of the young women of Ireland buying knickers.The view that a Lingerie shop might lower the tone of Ireland s premier thoroughfare is almost laughable, considering the fact that O Connell St has been allowed, by the Dublin Corporation, to become an avenue of burger-bars and amusement arcades, give or take a jewellers.
The Corpo seems to be once again out of step with the mood of the people. Elected officials can become unelected very quickly. This may not be the first time a city council could come to grief over a pair of knickers, but normally someone s been wearing the knickers first. It may be a storm in a B-cup, but let s not take this lying down. n