Business

M&S recruiting for 56 staff at new Craigavon store

M&S is set to open a new store in Craigavon later this year at Marlborough Retail Park in Craigavon
M&S is set to open a new store in Craigavon later this year at Marlborough Retail Park in Craigavon M&S is set to open a new store in Craigavon later this year at Marlborough Retail Park in Craigavon

MARKS and Spencer (M&S) is recruiting for 56 members of staff at its new Craigavon store, due to open later this year.

M&S announced in September it was opening a new Simply Food Store at Marlborough Retail Park in Craigavon and creating as many as 80 jobs. The outlet, at the 80,000 former B&Q site had previously been earmarked for a September opening, but the exact date at this stage has not been confirmed.

M&S is set to be joined in Craigavon by sportswear brand O'Neills, who have confirmed plans to open a 14,000 sq ft store at the retail park later this year.

John Woods, M&S Craigavon store manager said: “We’re working hard on developing our new M&S Foodhall in Craigavon and we’ll update the community on the opening day as soon as we can.

“To help us deliver the very best service at our new store and make every moment special for customers, we need the best team in place. Whilst retail experience is helpful, what we’re really after are colleagues who are ready to roll their sleeves up and be part of a hard-working team. Anyone who’s interested in joining the team should visit our website to find out more.”

Customer Assistant roles are currently available with further recruitment for seasonal jobs expected prior to Christmas.

The recruitment at the Craigavon store comes just weeks after M&S announced the closure of its long-standing outlet at Bow Street Mall in Lisburn. The M&S Simply Food Store will close in the Autumn, but all 40 staff are due to redeployed to nearby locations.

In a statement at the time head of region for M&S in Northern Ireland, Simon Latham admitted that the decision to close had not been taken lightly.

"The decision not to renew our lease and therefore close our small food store in Bow Street Mall, Lisburn was a difficult one to make," he said.

Marks and Spencer opened the first of over 20 stores in Northern Ireland at Donegall Place, Belfast in 1967 and now employs more than 3,000 staff in the north.

To find out more about the Craigavon vacancies visit: http://careers.marksandspencer.com/