Readymade Retail opportunity for Irish small businesses

Christmas will come early for one local business this year, as Champion Green, Ireland’s support local initiative, is giving small businesses the chance to win a €50,000 retail opportunity in partnership with Aviva Life & Pensions.

‘Readymade Retail’ was launched by Champion Green this week in the Blackrock Village Centre in Dublin. The competition will see a small business win a pop-up retail store in the south Dublin shopping centre, worth over €50,000 for a period of six months.

Online businesses looking to expand into a retail space, regional stores eager to test the Dublin market, or any small business wanting to capitalise on the busy festive and New Year sales period and beyond, are invited to enter the Champion Green competition at www.championgreen.ie

Prime opportunity

The prime pop-up shop is worth €21,550 (to include rent and rates excluding utilities) and is being provided by Aviva Life & Pensions on a six-month rental licence, from October 2022 to March 2023 inclusive. Fit-out specialist Roccul is offering the winning business additional fit-out advice and equipment, valued at €5,000.

The competition winner will have free parcel-sending for one year within Ireland, from An Post Commerce, to support online retailing, as well as a free direct mail campaign in south county Dublin, a combined value of €10,000.

Also on offer to the prize-winner is a business planning session with well-known entrepreneur, SMEs champion and former Dragon, Bobby Kerr.

The competition is open to non-food SMEs and the closing date is September 5th next.

Complementary membership

A complementary one-year membership of the main Champion Green business group partners, Retail Excellence, the Small Firms Association and Chambers Ireland, is included too.

With a store marketing campaign from Champion Green and Bannerton PR, worth €15,000, in the mix, and business planning and professional mentoring from MentorsWork, the government-backed scheme, the winner will have a remarkable ‘readymade retail’ opportunity to boost festive and New Year’s trade.

Champion Green

Champion Green, brainchild of businesswoman Marian O’Gorman, Chairperson of Kilkenny Design, is a movement to inspire people to support local, to do business locally, and to source local product and services, both in-person and online. The aim is to help Ireland recover and to keep towns and communities vibrant for future generations.

Jenny Donnelly of Aviva Life and Pensions said:

"Providing short-term retail space to small businesses in prime locations allows them experience the potential of retail for their brand or business, risk-free. It is a showcase for the original and innovative products and services that our SMEs provide, whilst at the same time adding a new consumer offering to the Blackrock Village Centre."

Champion Green is supported by Kilkenny Design and VISA, in association with Retail Excellence, the Small Firms Association and Chambers Ireland. The initiative is backed by a €1m investment to drive consumer support for local enterprise and to help SMEs adapt and grow business.