I first met Don Nugent when we were in rival department stores on opposite sides of Grafton Street in the 1980s, during the last severe financial crisis in Ireland. He was in Switzers and I was a fashion buyer in the old Brown Thomas. We are still friends, and both still in retail, but steering two separate ships through another recession – he as Dundrum Town Centre director and I as Irish chairman of high-street labels Karen Millen, Coast, Oasis, Warehouse and Bastyan.

Recently, Xposé's Lisa Cannon and I took a double-decker Oasis fashion bus on a three-day tour around Dublin and Cork. On day two we pulled up at Dundrum Town Centre and straight out to welcome us was Don, who immediately hopped into the driving seat! He and I sat down for a chat about the current Irish retail landscape, Grafton Street retailing and the tough economic times retailers have faced in Ireland in the past.

Don cut his teeth in Switzers as a sales adviser before quickly moving up the ladder to buyer, then merchandise manager, and eventually general manager of the department store. I was across the street in BT, and distinctly remember the takeover of Switzers and our move into the landmark location. Don said that although the takeover by Brown Thomas made complete financial sense during the 1990s, Grafton Street lost a big asset to its retail landscape. "I think there is definitely room for a second big department store on Grafton Street," he said. "Back then [the 1980s and '90s], the street had just become pedestrianised and was becoming increasingly popular with street entertainers and window shoppers. Grafton Street even now is still missing an alternative department store to Brown Thomas."

I asked Don his views on Grafton Street as a key retail trading ground for Ireland, and what in his opinion can be done to improve the street. "Grafton Street, in theory, has it all – the environs, the architecture, the accessibility, the customer desire to shop on the street. What's wrong is the brand mix of stores on the street and the limited choice for shoppers, but this is completely fixable... City-centre trading is so important, not just for Dublin, but for Ireland. Every major city needs a shopping destination, and Grafton Street is a central shopping destination for tourists – it is a reason that people come on city breaks to Dublin. Perhaps the problem is that, for a number of reasons, Grafton Street no longer has a unique retail identity."

Don smiled as he told me his PR answer about the Grafton Street versus Dundrum Town Centre debate: "You can travel from Grafton Street to Dundrum by Luas in the same journey time travelling from Grafton Street to Henry Street by foot!"

The age-old debate of city retail versus suburban shopping centres is a hot topic during harsh economic times. Don said Dundrum should not be seen as an alternative, but as an extension of city-centre shopping. "We'd like to think that Dundrum Town Centre adds to the attraction of Dublin, and that tourists and consumers who love city breaks will love our Town Centre shopping destination just as much. Our philosophy is to run it as one big department store with 150 departments, rather than a shopping centre with various occupants."

Don said that the Christmas scheme this year at Dundrum, which opens next Saturday, would be much different to previous years: "During tough times, people want to go back to basics, and enjoy simple traditions. In recognition of this we have changed our usual Christmas scheme to focus on creating an atmosphere of home comforts and cosiness, with family traditions at the hub for this year's festivities at Dundrum."

It is fair to say that consumer habits are changing in a way that retailers need to catch up with – and that 'going back to basics' is the dominant cultural theme in Ireland at the moment. Whether it is in the food that people prefer to eat or in the television that people watch, certain values and tastes lost over the 'good' years are coming back. There is a massive opportunity to cater to these needs.

Don said there were three factors his team focuses on which drive shoppers into stores and make them come back again. Good value, good service, and good choice of product. Retailers who don't move with the market to cater to these needs will be the casualties of this recession. "We have found at Dundrum that people are still in the same mindframe of acquired tastes they got used to during the boom, but they are shopping in a more cautious way. The difference for shoppers now is that there is so much value out there. Retailers didn't have to offer the deals that they do now three years ago."

Every Friday morning, a strategy meeting takes place at Dundrum, where Don and his teams sit down and make plans for the centre. They plan for now, for a 12-month period, and for the long term up to 2015. Catering to the mass market, the high-street shopper, and the exclusive boutique market from one location is no easy feat, but Dundrum Town Centre's tiered brand structure makes the centre attractive to each market.

Now, preparations for launching Phase Two are beginning which will see the redevelopment of the old shopping centre. Don recalled that the retail industry had just begun to slide a few years ago when plans were first made for Phase Two and, knowing that a storm was brewing, they decided to let short-term until the market turned around.

Now, it seems, things are starting to slowly turn and Don is looking to a bright future. With Christmas festivities at Dundrum kicking off next month, and Phase Two in the pipeline, Don Nugent and his team prove that retail destinations are not sitting still during this recession. "We were all running, now we are jogging, but we never stopped moving," he said.