Matalan to open first N Ireland city centre store

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Sep 25, 2018

Matalan will open a brand-new store at Belfast’s CastleCourt next month that will create more than 50 jobs. And while it may not seem newsworthy given that the chain already has 227 UK locations, it’s the firm’s very first city centre location in Ireland.

The company is currently fitting-out the 24,000 sq ft unit in the heart of Belfast and will open just as the momentum heading up to the Christmas season starts to build.

The company has described the new shop as a “landmark Matalan store in an outstanding location” and said it sees it as offering plenty of opportunity for growth.

Located on Royal Avenue with parking for more than 1,600 vehicles, CastleCourt is one of the largest shopping centres in Northern Ireland, attracting more than 12 million visitors every year.

Matalan has been performing strongly in recent periods and in July reported Q1 sales up 5%, although currency pressures remained a problem. 

That growth was achieved partly through online expansion but it remains committed to a large store estate and has also been growing its physical footprint abroad. 

It has opened two stores in Malta and two in Gibraltar recently, ahead of further openings in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Armenia and Bahrain this year.