Minister English announces €5m in grants to retail sector through COVID-19 Online Retail Scheme administered by Enterprise Ireland

68% of successful applicants located outside Dublin

Minister of State for Business, Employment and Retail at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Damien English, has today announced the successful applicants approved for funding through the third call of the COVID-19 Online Retail Scheme, which is administered by Enterprise Ireland. 133 retailers have been approved €5m in funding as part of the scheme, which is targeted at retailers who already have an online presence to strengthen their online offering and enable them to reach a wider customer base.

The scheme received 292 applications. 68% of the successful applicants are located outside Dublin with 90 retailers from these regions approved for funding.

Under this COVID-19 competitive call, the successful applicants will receive funding ranging from €14,080 to €40,000 to strengthen their online offering. The average grant value is €37,500 and covers up to 80% of project costs.

Minister Damien English TD said:

Ross O’Colmain, Department Manager, Construction, Timber, Cleantech and Consumer, Enterprise Ireland added:

Siobhan Geoghegan, Managing Director of Geoghegan’s department store in Navan said:

The Online Retail Scheme was open to Irish-based retailers with a physical store and a pre-existing online presence who employ 10 or more people. In addition, the scheme focuses on retailers predominantly selling products to individual consumers as opposed to those selling mainly to business customers. Grants can be used to fund fees for service providers, develop and implement a digital strategy supported by in-house training and enhance the retailer’s website.

The scheme is complementary to the Trading Online Voucher Scheme by the Local Enterprise Offices that offers funding of €2,500 to businesses of up to 10 employees.

The 133 retailers awarded funding, operate across a broad spectrum of sectors including jewellery, fashion, sports, homeware and furniture, healthcare, electrical goods and equipment.

Photos will be issued by Maxwell Photography and are available on request.

For further information please contact:

Brigid Burke, Press and Media Relations, Enterprise Ireland, 087 1803995 brigid.burke@enterprise-ireland.com

About Enterprise Ireland:

Enterprise Ireland is the Irish State agency that works with Irish enterprises to help them start, grow, innovate and win export sales in global markets. Enterprise Ireland partners with entrepreneurs, Irish businesses, and the research and investment communities to develop Ireland’s international trade, innovation, leadership and competitiveness. In this way, we support sustainable economic growth and regional development, and help create and sustain employment in Ireland. www.enterprise-ireland.com

About the COVID-19 Online Retail Scheme:

Supporting the Irish retail sector to embed a more sophisticated online trading (e-tailing) strategy in its business model can contribute to the continued viability of a cohort of retail companies affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and help position them for recovery. Applicant companies must be an Irish-based retail enterprise that had 10 or more employees on or before 29 February 2020 and has the potential to sustain or create jobs, generate growth in online transactions and with an ambition to internationalise their business in future.

The business must also have an existing online presence (for example: website or social media); and have a retail outlet and derive the majority of revenue from retailing products directly to individual consumers:

• where a company provides both products and services, the applicant must provide a breakdown of sales revenue showing that products account for more than 50% of total revenue for a recent trading period, which may be up to the call close date
• where a company has a mixture of business-to-consumer (B2C) and business-to-business (B2B) operations, the applicant must provide a breakdown of sales revenue showing that sales from B2C activities account for more than 50% of total revenue for a recent trading period, which may be up to the call close date
• must employ at least 10 employees in the Republic of Ireland (on a full-time equivalent basis on or before 29 February 2020)

The Scheme originated in the work of the Retail Consultation Forum which is chaired by the Minister of State for Business, Employment and Retail, Damien English TD.

Building on two previous successful calls of the COVID-19 Online Retail Scheme, introduced by the Department arising from the work of the Retail Consultation Forum, applications for the 2021 scheme were open to indigenous retailers to develop a more competitive online offer in response to the COVID-19 crisis and to strengthen business resilience.

List of 133 approved companies under COVID-19 Online Retail Scheme