01/03/2002

Jessops set to open new store in Ballymena

Leading specialist photographic retailer, Jessops is to invest an estimated £10 million in opening a further 40 stores over the next twelve months, creating up to 400 new jobs.

Ten of these jobs will be created in Ballymena as the company plans to open a new store at Tower Centre in the town.

This latest expansion by Jessops, which currently operates 211 stores across the UK, comes with the acquisition of fourteen high street sites from Box Clever, the electrical goods rental company.

Twelve of these will be traditional Jessops stores offering the usual wide range of photographic products and services, while two will be in the concept ‘new tecno’ format.

Jessops Chairman Tim Brookes said: “2001 was a tremendously successful year for Jessops, culminating in record Christmas trading figures showing a 20 per cent increase in sales.

“We continue to benefit both from increasing consumer awareness of the Jessops brand, and the popularity of digital photography - predicted to be the fastest growth area in retail in the next three years. The ongoing expansion of our store portfolio will ensure we capitalise on these extremely positive trends." (MB)

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