The latest CSO figures show that the picture is improving for retailers nationally.
Retail sales rose by 12% in the month of July, an increase of 2 per cent from the same time last year.
Waterford Business Group spokesperson Michael Garland says there's been a definite lift in Waterford city centre recently.
"The City in Bloom, which is all the flowers (adorning city centre shop fronts) has lifted it," he says, "and I know there's plans afoot between ourselves and the Council to take over Tidy Towns and make it bigger and better."
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Michael Garland says it's a tough time for retailers generally in Waterford but that the green shoots of recovery are visible, particularly after the redevelopment of the Applemarket.
