Leading Donegal businessman Gary Cooney has revealed his store is losing thousands of euro each week through shoplifting.
Mr Cooney, who owns Cooney’s Home and Garden, says he is at his wits end with the level of theft at his store.
And he adds that shoplifting across Letterkenny if rife but many multinationals are soaking up the expense of the thefts.
So frustrated is the well-known businessman with the robberies that he has now started posting pictures of people stealing from his store.
Mr Cooney told Donegal Daily “I am just so frustrated at this stage that I have had enough. Thousands of euro is walking out of my store each week.
“I know for a fact that it is happening across the board but the bigger multi-nationals can afford to take a hit but I cannot. It is having a very really impact on my business.”
Mr Cooney revealed how he was assaulted when he tried to stop two people shoplifting at his store last week.
“I went to stop them leaving the shop with some goods and I was attacked. The woman hit me about the head with her mobile phone. This is the kind of thing shopowners are up against on a daily basis.
“Local businesses are really suffering as a result of this because goods are just walking out the door and there is very little being done about it.
“It’s happening on a large scale basis and everything from clothing to storage heaters is walking out the door.
“Something will have to be done because businesses are up against the wall already without this large-scale shoplifting happening on top of that,” he added.
Tags: