RETAILER Sports Direct has opened a new megastore in Newry's Buttercrane Centre, its 19th shop in the north.
The 51,000 sq ft store, one of its biggest in Northern Ireland, will include the USC clothing brand and Game, the video game retailer it acquired last year, as well as a Belong gaming arena, a 24-seat social space for competitive gamers.
Buttercrane manager Peter Murray said the opening was a massive vote of confidence in the centre in what is general a difficult time for bricks and mortar retailing.
“We're hugely excited to welcome these popular brands, which we know will go down well with customers,” he said.
“It's the largest retail store to open anywhere in Northern Ireland since the lifting of lockdown, which is a huge vote of confidence in the high street and in Buttercrane in particular, further strengthening our fashion and lifestyle offering.”
Michael Murray, head of elevation for SportsDirect.com, said: “We're proud to open this new retail destination in the heart of Newry.
“Our next-generation stores offer customers the biggest brands in sportswear, sports equipment and fashion, all under one roof.”
Sports Direct is part of Mike Ashley's Frasers Group, whose delayed results, published yesterday, painted a bullish picture for the future of the high street at a time when others are fleeing.
Frasers, which also includes House of Fraser and Evans, said the emptying of the high street and shopping centres could prove lucrative for the firm, with more space available to expand.
The company also plans to invest in excess of £100 million on upgrading its digital platforms and pushing its designer label business Flannels.
Bosses are keen to push their "elevation" strategy to improve stores and win over more customers with premium products - and away from previous criticisms of crowded stores and never-ending discount events.
This includes building strong relationships with Adidas and Nike, who spent much of the past decade shifting away from Mr Ashley and his preferred style of aggressive business.
They also called for the Government to increase corporation tax in the UK by 1 per cent to fund the NHS, adding "on the proviso the full 1 per cent goes directly to the NHS".
Revenues for the year to April 26 were up 6.9 per cent to £3.96 billion, but pre-tax profits were down 12.9 per cent to £101 million.
