New series goes behind the scenes at Penneys on Cork's Patrick Street

Cork’s Penneys store on Patrick Street is to feature in an RTÉ documentary series, the first episode of which will be aired tonight at 8.30pm on RTÉ One. 

The six-part series, Inside Penneys, will give the public a view as to what goes on behind the scenes at the popular store, from the head office to shop floors in Ireland and internationally.

A spokesperson for the retailer told The Echo, “Our Penneys store in Patrick’s Street, Cork, features throughout the series – in episode one tonight, then again in episode three and four.”

The spokesperson said that people can expect to see “lots of our amazing staff and what they deal with on a daily basis in the store, talking about our exciting plans to expand the store, and dealing with prep for a big storm brewing in the city during filming.” 

Expansion plans

Plans for a major expansion of the Penneys store on Patrick Street received approval from An Bord Pleanála in November 2023 following its rejection of an appeal against the development.

The plans will see some demolition works and the redevelopment of a block of buildings bordered by Patrick Street, Oliver Plunkett Street, Cook Street and Robert Street to amalgamate retail units for the extended store.

'A lot of excitement'

Penneys Cork store manager Hazel O’Connor told The Echo “We had the camera crew in for two days at the end of the summer and there was a lot of excitement, it was a fun two days.” 

They spoke staff across the store about what their jobs in different departments entail. 

Ms O'Connor said that both staff and customers talked to the crews, so “people will be seeing a lot of Cork faces.” 

She explained: “They covered a lot, the show gives a real insight into our everyday life, they showed us going out to the truck at 4:45am in the morning, and I think a lot of people who don’t work in retail wouldn’t realise how early we start.

“At the time we were waiting for the decision by An Bord Pleanála, which has since come through,” she said, adding that there was lots of excitement for their store to expand as “you can see how badly it’s needed on the show."

She added:"The day they were filming was a very busy day, and it shows our current challenges of being in an old store which hasn’t been refurbished for 12 years.” 

“There has been a real buzz around the place since we saw the trailer for the show, we’re definitely all going to be tuning it at 8.30pm tonight!”