The exciting new development will provide a much needed boost to the local construction sector and will create a new street scape and grand plaza feel to one of Northern Ireland premier shopping destinations.

Dr Gerard O’Hare, owner of The Quays stated, “I am delighted that the application is to be recommended for approval by the Department. This will allow The Quays to offer a further new and exciting phase to its customers.

“In the present market conditions it is not easy to plan new projects but we believe that good sound development is more important than ever now. It offers opportunity to create much needed jobs in construction and retail and this project demonstrates that both The Quays and Newry remain at the premiership level of retail demand.

“This development has much wider implications as it secures the vitality of a city centre; it offers sustainability to existing retailers with the introduction of a wider critical mass and it offers hope for many in wider society- that there is a light at the end of the current, dark economic tunnel.”

Dr O’Hare added “Of course it will remain difficult to deliver these plans in current market conditions and impossible without certainty of demand but I am delighted to announce that with half of the space already reserved we have very good reason to be optimistic. My team has done an amazing job bringing this project forward in challenging times which should not be underestimated and I am confident that they have the skills and experience to allow them to continue with this success through to delivery.”

The new phase subject to final approval is expected to commence in the latter half of 2012 with completion late 2013.It is expected that the project will create in the region of 200 jobs during construction and 300 full and part time retail and associated jobs on completion.

Sainsbury’s has had a longstanding commitment to ensure it offers customers great value on grocery brands and has today (Tuesday 16th August) announced the trial launch of cutting-edge technology in its 12 Northern Irish stores** that will guarantee that customers will not pay more for their basket of branded groceries than they would in Asda or Tesco. From Wednesday 17th August, in an industry first, customers will instantly receive a money-off Sainsbury’s Brand Match Coupon at the end of their transaction if the same basket of grocery branded goods would have been cheaper at either Tesco or Asda.

Using independent price data***, the advanced system instantly calculates the cost of a customer’s basket of branded grocery goods compared to the cost of the same branded basket at Asda and Tesco., even including any promotional deals they are running. If the branded grocery basket would have been cheaper elsewhere, shoppers will immediately receive a coupon – equal to the value of the difference between Sainsbury’s and either Asda or Tesco, depending on which is the cheapest. The coupon can be redeemed in store during their next shop.

Sainsbury’s Brand Match overview
• Sainsbury’s is committed to ensuring customers don’t pay more for their branded grocery basket than they would at Tesco or Asda.
• The new Sainsbury’s Brand Match scheme is the only price incentive that gives the difference back to the shopper instantly as a coupon if comparable branded grocery basket is cheaper at either Asda or Tesco on the same day: no ifs, no buts, no fuss.
• Shoppers simply need to spend £20 or more and buy at least comparable one branded grocery item to benefit from Sainsbury’s Brand Match.
• Shoppers can use multiple Sainsbury’s Brand Match coupons in a single transaction as long as the coupon values are different.
• Grocery brands that are on special promotional deals in Asda and Tesco will be included in Sainsbury’s Brand Match providing the appropriate number of items are bought (e.g. to match against an Asda or Tesco buy one get one free offer you would need to have two of the same items in your basket at Sainsbury’s).
• Coupons will be valid for 14 days from the issue date and can be redeemed in all Sainsbury’s stores in Northern Ireland.

Mike Coupe, Sainsbury’s Group Commercial Director, said: “Sainsbury’s Brand Match marks a huge step forward in the supermarket shopping experience and we’re delighted customers in Northern Ireland will be the first to trial it.

“We’ve always been committed to offering the best price on brands and by developing and installing innovative technology in our stores we can reassure every customer that they’re paying the same for their basket of branded grocery goods every time they shop with us. If your basket of branded grocery goods is cheaper at Tesco or Asda, Sainsbury’s Brand Match technology allows us to us to issue a coupon for the difference immediately.

“We want to give shoppers a no-hassle experience; we understand they don’t want to spend time constantly checking prices or logging onto a computer to print out a coupon at home. Quite simply, we’re doing the maths and the work so they don’t have to!”

For more information on Sainsbury’s Brand Match please visit www.sainsburys.co.uk/brandmatch

The Quays Shopping Centre in Newry is today welcoming three new tenants with the announcement that high street giant H&M will be opening a store in the centre later this year. Debenhams at The Quays will be launching concession favourite Warehouse this month while fish foot spa sensation, AppyFeet, recently opened its doors at the Newry shopping centre.
To make way for the H&M store, which is due to open in the autumn, GameStop, will be moving across the mall beside Aldo. Local fashion retailer Miss Glam will also be opening for the autumn season. The new and relocated units will see the mall fully let. The new stores will create a number of jobs at the city centre site which already employs almost 2,000 people.
Cathal Austin, Centre Manager at The Quays said, “H&M is one of the few major retailers currently without a presence in Newry and we are delighted to welcome them to The Quays. This is only their third store outside of Belfast and is a major vote of confidence in The Quays and Newry’s burgeoning retail sector.
“It is important for our customers that we offer the best range of local and high street brands and we believe with these new stores and our existing retailers we have an offer to rival any available outside of Belfast or Dublin. We are also delighted that the new outlets will bring additional jobs to the centre helping to boost the local economy.”
The Quays has over 50 retail and commercial units at its Albert Basin site in the heart of Newry City Centre. Joint Letting Agents for The Quays are Savills and Tushingham Moore.

With a budget of around £26m and a staff of over 220, NIBTS is part of a network of blood services in the UK and Ireland, with strong links to sister organisations throughout Europe, through the European Blood Alliance, and DOMAINE (an EU-funded programme).

Paul McElkerney, a Chartered Marketer, is the manager of the Donor Recruitment and Organisation department in NIBTS and at 6.00pm on 3 March The Chartered Institute of Marketing will be holding an event at the headquarters of the NIBTS at Belfast City Hospital when Paul will be revealing to fellow marketers the challenges, ‘what works’ and in the unpredictable world of human nature and changing behaviours and attitudes, what sometimes doesn’t work. He will dissect down further into the marketing channels NIBTS use to promote and performance measure the service. This will include KPIs such as complaints, satisfaction and another new measure relating staff inputs to successful donor recruitment and maintenance of the (customer) database. He will be joined by Charles Kinney who is the Donor Services General Manager at NIBTS, with primary responsibility for the donor programme, including blood collection staff (nursing, admin and transport), donor records and donor marketing. A key member of the senior management team, Charles is a Chartered Marketer and long-standing CIM member. Advance booking is required, see www.cim.co.uk/38380 for details or phone 01628 427340.