Mahon Point: Two decades at the helm of Irish retail

Most of us are all too familiar with the difficulty of dragging ourselves back to reality after a good old break – especially after last week’s much welcomed Bank Holiday.

Whether that break is a week away somewhere gloriously sunny, or just an extra day at home to veg out on the sofa and catch up on binge watching, it seems the sensation of dread manages to find us and follow us back to work, wherever we might be.

In one very special corner of the earth, however, that doesn’t happen at all.

Instead, at Mahon Point Shopping Centre, that most rarest of things can be found – a team of staff who genuinely look forward to clocking in each day.

“I really enjoy my job, and can honestly say I’m happy coming in each morning,” shares Mary O’Connor, the shopping centre’s Services Manager. “Even on my holidays, say if I go away with other people, they might be moaning about going back to work or whatever, but I don’t mind coming back at all. I look forward to it! Of course it’s lovely being at home or going away to new places, but I’m always happy to get back to work and see familiar faces – I love my routine.”

It’s not just the staff at Mahon Point who feel that way, either. Thousands of customers similarly look forward to walking through the doors of the shopping centre, counting themselves as regulars – with an average of 115,000 shoppers visiting each week.

It’s these customers who’ve each helped Mahon Point reach its biggest milestone to date this month – an incredible 20 years in business.

Since opening on February 1st 2005, the centre has garnered multiple awards and achievements – going on to become the largest shopping centre in Munster, and one of the greenest in Ireland thanks to extensive ESG projects.

None of the success would have been possible, however, without the great people both working and shopping at Mahon Point throughout the past 20 years.

“At Mahon Point, we pride ourselves on our people – it’s the key thing we keep coming back to as we reflect on our 20 years to date,” says Centre Director Justin Young. “There are great relationships between people at all levels of the business, and longevity to those relationships - that works all the way up to Deka Immobilien, who have been our owners since day one, and Savills Ireland, our managing agents.

“There are a significant number of staff here who have been with us for all 20 years, and more still who are in the 15-20 years of service bracket, which is a testament to what a great place to work Mahon Point is. It offers a career that’s rewarding in many different ways, and affords people a variety of opportunities. Our team has built up a huge reserve of knowledge across every aspect of the shopping centre over the years, which they consistently use to go the extra mile for our customers.

“There are a number of those customers who come in to us on a daily basis, and for them Mahon Point offers community, a place to meet friends and colleagues and sit down for a chat. For some of them, Mahon Point has become a really important focal point in their lives; their go-to for socialising and engaging with other people. It’s a place of coming together, particularly for families. We’ve had various events and initiatives over the years that have drawn in people of all ages throughout the community, from our former ice rink to Santa’s arrival, and we offer a nice variety of classes in our community room, open to babies and adults alike. It means people across Cork have really grown up alongside the centre.

“The wider local community is also hugely important to us. Our roots are deeply embedded here in Mahon not only in terms of our location, but through our relationship with various local community groups, such as An Garda Síochána, Mahon Tidy Towns, local schools and clubs like Ringmahon Rangers and Blackrock GAA. We’re very proud to support those groups.”

A willingness to offer support, in fact, is one of the key factors behind Mahon Point’s long-term success. For Angela Cummins, who’s worked at the centre for 20 years, it has been one of the most rewarding aspects of her career.

“I absolutely love working with my team, there’s such a friendly and relaxed atmosphere amongst us all,” she shares. “A lot of the staff are long-term like me, so over the years we’ve become as close as family. We all look out for each other. I lost my husband last year and the support from everyone at work, from management right down, was just amazing.

“I know lots of colleagues who’ve been similarly looked after at Mahon Point. Many of the girls on my team initially came from different parts of the world with limited English, for example, but they’ve adapted hugely since coming to Cork and working at Mahon Point. Everyone made them feel welcome and helped them to settle in. It must have been overwhelming for them at first in such a new environment, but help was always there, as it has been for me over the past 20 years. The management team are really approachable, if you have any problem or something you want to talk through, their door is always open. They’ll accommodate you however they can, which is something you don’t come across often in many workplaces. Even though it’s such a big centre, with so much going on, people always come first and everything else follows. It’s lovely to feel looked after like that.”

It's a huge team to look after, too, with at least 1,000 people working across the centre at any given time, and that number rising up to 1,300 during peak seasons such as Christmas.

“There’s a substantial number of people who’ve been part of Mahon Point’s journey to date,” says Justin. “Like any business, we’re only as good as the people working for us. We’re incredibly grateful to have so many long-term staff, people who have stayed with us and progressed in their career, but we’re also proud of former employees who’ve moved on to great things beyond Mahon Point. For a lot of young people throughout Cork, Mahon Point has given them a start in their careers; their first exposure to retail or to dealing with the public, which is always good in terms of personal development.”

As Services Manager, Mary O’Connor has seen first-hand how working at Mahon Point has changed many people's lives.

“I started working at Mahon Point on January 7th 2005, before the centre even opened. It was just a building site at the time,” she recalls. “My own life has changed so much since I began working here. When I started this job, I was in my 30s with young kids and now I have children who are nearly in their 30s themselves. I’ve seen members of my own team meet their partners through working here, and some of them are now married with kids off to college. It’s been a highlight, getting to see so many people grow and flourish whilst working here.

“People in general are my favourite part of the job – from the people I work with, to meeting new customers every day. The relationships we’ve all built with the regular customers over the years are very special. I’ve met mothers coming in with their babies attending the likes of our baby massage classes, and then a few years later I’d run into them again bringing that same child upstairs, a teenager now, to the food court for a birthday party. Who knows, maybe some day those kids will be bringing their own children to Mahon Point too!”

If Justin has any say, they certainly will be. Twenty years in, he has no plans of slowing down Mahon Point’s growth in the coming years.

“Retail is evolving and changing all the time, it’s very hard to say where we’ll be in another 20 years’ time. What I can say is that we’re looking forward to the future with considerable optimism, notwithstanding the various challenges in the industry. We currently have full occupancy, and significant demand from retailers for space here.

“Of course, we always have to reflect on what we do and how we do it, to keep ourselves relevant to the wider public and keep people coming through the doors. We’re always looking at new brands coming to the Irish market that we’d like to see here – so who knows which retailers could be out here within 10 years’ time? It’s certainly very exciting.”

To keep up with what’s next for Mahon Point, visit www.mahonpointsc.ie.