Cheers as €9m Portlaoise Penneys is launched

DELIGHTED cheers greeted the relaunch of Penneys in Portlaoise this morning, following a €9m makeover that brought 25 new jobs and doubled the size of the store.

Eager crowds gathered outside the outlet in Laois Shopping Centre, as the ribbon was cut by Laois Co Council Cathaoirleach Cllr Barry Walsh, a dapper dresser who no doubt had one eye on the greatly expanded menswear department.

He was joined by Fintan Costello, head of Penneys Ireland and Northern Ireland, together with the staff team led by store manager Orla Hudson. There was a stampede of shoppers as doors were officially flung open at 9am, on what the Primark group describes as ‘Bigger, Brighter, Better: A New Chapter’ for Portlaoise.

The big relaunch came 55 years after Penneys opened a store on Lyster Square in Portlaoise in 1971, moving to the Laois Shopping Centre two decades later in 1991.

The new look Penneys has more than doubled in size, from 8,130sq. ft to 20,000 sq. ft, while about 25 new jobs have increased the staff team to 75. They include many long-serving employees, with more than 15 per cent having worked at the Portlaoise store for over 20 years.

Among them are Susan Kerry, who will celebrate an incredible 47 years’ service this year and Christina Ryan, who has worked in Penneys for 38 years.

The new store includes much larger children’s and ladieswear departments, wider walkways, display tables made of recycled materials and curved lightboxes, eight new self-service checkout tills and a new back-of-house area for staff.

Work on the expansion began last September and was carried out in stages, after Penneys got planning permission to extend into two neighbouring vacant units.

The extended section opened to customers in December, while work went ahead on refurbishment of the old store over the past three months.

Commenting on the relaunch, Mr Costello said: “We know our customers in the area having been waiting for this for a long time and we’re so excited to showcase our new space.

“The store is now more than double the size, giving customers a brighter, more spacious place to shop even more of the great value fashion and everyday family essentials they love from Penneys.

“It’s also fantastic to be growing our team with new roles and to celebrate the many long-serving colleagues who have helped make the store such an important part of the community for so many decades.” 

The budget retailer has announced plans to invest €250m in new and existing stores over a 10-year period, including the development of a €75m ‘state-of-the-art’ distribution centre in Newbridge, Co Kildare, which is set to open later this year.

Founded in Ireland in 1969, Primark has more than 480 stores across 19 countries in Europe, the US and the Middle East, employing more than 80,000 people.