THE UK's largest independent toy retailer is to open a new £300,000 store in Antrim, creating eight jobs.
The Entertainer will open its second outlet in the north at The Junction Retail and Leisure Park in June. The toy retailer will occupy a 4,000 sq ft unit next to Beauty Outlet in the retail park.
The arrival of The Entertainer follows the completion of a new Lidl supermarket and is part of The Junction’s ongoing £30m redevelopment plan.
Last year saw the arrival of leading sports retailer, Intersport, and the UK’s fastest growing beauty retailer, The Beauty Outlet. In addition, the construction of a state-of-the-art drive-thru McDonalds restaurant was completed and opened to the public in November, while global restaurant chain, Nando’s is to open a new store at the complex later this year.
Craig Stewart, senior asset manager from Junction owners, The Lotus Group, welcomed the "very welcome addition".
“Our vision for The Junction is to create a vibrant retail and leisure destination in Antrim that will offer a wide selection of eateries, retailers and leisure innovations that will guarantee an excellent day out for the local people of Antrim and for those from further afield," he said.
“Recently we’ve announced a number of new investments and we will continue the momentum of improving the retail park in 2019 through our planned redevelopment of the scheme and further exciting new brands in the coming weeks.”
Andrew Milner-Walker, head of property at The Entertainer added:
“We were impressed to learn of The Junction’s redevelopment plans and felt it was a prime opportunity for us to build The Entertainer’s brand presence further in Northern Ireland."
