Midlands shoppers will get an early Black Friday boost today when Swedish fashion giant H&M opens a new, bigger store in Athlone Towncentre.
The retailer, which also owns brands including & Other Stories and Cos, has steadily being building up its Irish presence of late. Earlier this year it became the first retailer to move into the new Clerys Quarter, while its more upmarket offering, Arket, is expected to open on Dublin’s Dawson Street early next year.
In Athlone, H&M has signed a 10-year lease for its new store, which is an amalgamation of two units at ground-floor and first-floor levels. It will increase the retailer’s store size from 1,104sq m (11,887sq ft) to 1,411sq m (15,192sq ft), after an investment of some €3 million in store re-fit. The letting agents are Bannon and Cushman & Wakefield.
The shopping centre, which opened in 2007 and is the largest such outlet in the midlands, now has 98 per cent occupancy. It has seen a flurry of activity of late, with the arrival of a new anchor tenant Sports Direct, as well as big new brands including Rituals, an expanded Pamela Scott store and new Irish brands Echo Hair and Nails, Koo Koo and the recently opened Nana’s Tea.
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Jennifer Mulholland, director at Bannon, said: “With this latest announcement, Athlone Towncentre is delivering on our long-term ambition for the scheme – namely, to become the leading shopping-centre destination in the midlands region and wider catchment area. We believe that’s central to its appeal not only for H&M but for other big Irish and international brands including Sports Direct, River Island, Zara, M&S, NEXT, TK Maxx and Eason.”
According to Bannon, the experience at Athlone Towncentre is reflective of how the market is moving currently, in that well-managed, performing assets continue to track ahead of sales in comparison with past years.
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