Home Store + More expected to open in Athlone next month

Leading homewares retailer Home Store + More is expected to open its new Athlone store next month, in a welcome boost for the area's retail landscape at the start of a new year.

Although a formal date has yet to be announced, the popular Irish owned brand is due to open its first branch in Westmeath in mid-February in Arcadia Retail Park after signing a long-term deal last year to take a 21,000 square foot unit formerly occupied by Carpetright and Laura Ashley.

Work on the new store has been ongoing for several months, and approximately 40 jobs are expected to be created when it opens. Recruitment notices have been posted in recent days on the company's website seeking sales assistants and stockroom assistants for the new Athlone shop.

Home Store + More has is the second big-name retailer to come to Arcadia in recent times, following the successful opening of JYSK, the Scandinavian furniture and furnishings chain, in August of last year. Home Store + More will be located beside JYSK, a move that is expected to increase footfall in both stores.

Only established in Tallaght since 2004, the brand has grown substantially in the intervening years to become Irelands's leading independent homeware retailer with over 900 employees across 22 stores countrywide. It recently expanded across the water by opening two stores in Scotland.

Home Store + More is a big draw for shoppers who until now had to travel to Longford town or Galway to shop in-store. It also operates a successful click and collect and website offering delivering productions nationwide.

Last October, Arcadia Retail Park said in a statement it was delighted to confirm it was bringing "another top-tier retailer" to Athlone, saying that Home Store + More will really mark the arrival of Arcadia as a thriving retail centre for local shoppers and others around the Midlands.

As the name suggests, Home Store + More prides itself on stocking everything you need to create a happy home at the best value - from kitchenware, bedroom and bathroom essentials, tableware, curtains, throws, cushions, rugs, wall décor and much more.

The retail park's anchor tenant, B&Q, has over 50,000 square foot of retail space and a garden centre.