HOME, leisure and gardens retailer The Range has opened its fifth Northern Ireland store, creating 80 jobs from store to department managers, warehouse assistants and retail administrators.
Its newest superstore in Glengormley followed months of building work on the former Homebase site next to Tesco at Northcott shopping centre.
It opened on the same day as a new branch in Hemel Hempstead in the south east of England and brings the total number of Range stores across the UK and Ireland to 165.
The growth of The Range, given the current economic challenges faced by the retail sector, is seen as a mark of the entrepreneurial leadership of Plymouth-based owner and self-made billionaire Chris Dawson.
He began life as a market stall trader before opening his first store in 1989 in Plymouth under the name CDS (Chris Dawson Superstores), and he has grown the company at an impressive rate ever since.
The Glengormley branch, which was officially opened by Antrim and Newtownabbey mayor Paul Michael, includes a Dee Dee’s family cafe, large patio department and outdoor garden centre and the complete Iceland Foods offering.
Owner Chris Dawson said: “It was fantastic to have so many people at the opening this morning, and we hope they all managed to find some fantastic bargains among our range of 80,000 products under the one roof.
“This store has been on the radar for some time, so it's great to see it finally built and open to the public. I’d like to thank all the staff and merchandising team for their efforts to get the store ready for the opening.”
Meanwhile after reopening in September following 20 years closure, vintage clothing and lifestyle retailer American Madness has expanded its east Belfast store with new café & concept outlet.
Founded in 1981 in Belfast, American Madness once had five outlets across Ireland before closing in 1998.
But Jon-Joe Rogers, son of the original owner, decided to re-launch the brand in the autumn with the idea of reaching out to a new generation of customers in Northern Ireland as well as worldwide with the launch of the brands web-store.
The new concept store at 2A Lena Street, opening today (Saturday), will stock a selection of curated magazines, books, records and vintage clothing sourced from around the world.
“After an overwhelmingly positive reaction to our opening, we have expanded with the opening of the new café/concept store," Jon-Joe said.
"We wanted to create a space that would make new and existing customers feel at home and somewhere that people could come browse our selection of vintage clothing whilst having a coffee and chat with one of our staff.”
