Eason Retail PLC, known as Easons or Eason, is an Irish retail company best known for selling books, stationery, cards, gifts, newspapers and magazines. Headquartered in Swords, County Dublin, it is the largest supplier of books, magazines and newspapers in Ireland. Eason employs approximately 600 people and is privately owned. Its turnover for the year ended January 2022 was €104 million. Eason has 54 stores which trade under the main brand in the Republic of Ireland. Eason also owns the Dubray Books brand and chain of 11 specialist bookstores, having acquired Dubray in 2020. Eason’s managing Director is Liam Hanly. Divisions Eason operates three business units: Eason Stores, Eason Online and Dubray. Eason Stores 54 stores trade under the Eason brand. This includes the company's flagship store on Dublin’s O’Connell Street as well as stores in Arklow, Athlone, Balbriggan, Ballina, Ballincollig, Blanchardstown, Carlow, Castlebar, Cavan, Clare Hall, Clonmel Shopping Centre, Cork City (2), Crescent Shopping Centre (Limerick), Douglas, Dun Laoghaire, Dundalk, Dundrum, Dungarvan, Ennis, Enniscorthy, Galway Shop Street, Galway Shopping Centre, Gorey, Heuston Station, Jetland, Kilkenny, Killarney, Liffey Valley, Limerick, Listowel, Mahon, Mallow, Maynooth, Monaghan, Mullingar, Nassau Street, Navan, Nenagh, Newbridge, Parkway, Santry, Shannon, Sligo, Sligo Quayside, Stephen’s Green, Swords, Tallaght, Thurles, Tralee, Wexford and Wilton. in 2019, Eason expanded its physical footprint by purchasing six stores in Kilkenny, Clonmel, Balbriggan, Maynooth and Arklow which had previously been operated under franchise agreement.,It also added three new franchise stores in Gorey, Enniscorthy and Wexford. Eason Online Eason's online business generated record revenues and high levels of profitability in 2021. Dubray Eason acquired rival bookseller Dubray in 2020. It continues to operate Dubray's chain of bookstores and online business under the Dubray brand, which specialises in book sales, as distinct from Eason's more general offering of books, newspapers, magazines, stationery and other products. In 2022, Eason opened three new Dubray stores in Dundrum (Dublin), Cork and on Dublin’s Henry Street, bringing the total number of Dubray stores to 11. History In 1886 Charles Eason, a manager of WHSmith wrote to the company asking if he could buy out the company. WHSmith sold its Irish section to him that year and there would not be a branch of WHSmith on any part of Ireland until 2001. In 1913 James Larkin published a pamphlet warning the company not to stock the newspapers of William Martin Murphy during the 1913 lockout. Originally all stores were