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Sainsbury’s Chief Executive unveils Newry improvements

A significant week for Sainsbury’s in Northern Ireland was rounded off today with the announcement from Chief Executive Justin King of a £5m refit of the busy Newry store. Justin King unveiled the plans when he addressed the Newry Chamber of Commerce business breakfast on Friday morning and the announcement comes two days after the opening of the 12^th Sainsbury’s store in Northern Ireland, in Carrickfergus.

Justin King told the business audience in Newry that Northern Ireland features prominently in Sainsbury’s plans for future growth.

“This week we opened our 12^th store in Northern Ireland in Carrickfergus, and that was our third new store since May 2008, following from Dungannon and west Belfast. Today I am pleased to announce that early next year the store here in Newry will undergo a significant refurbishment which will amount to a £5m investment by Sainsbury’s in the local area. This will help transform the store to make it better for our customers.

“So we are investing in your store and in your town and that is good news for Newry and for Sainsbury’s. Earlier this year we awarded a contract to Teleperformance, a call centre in Newry to handle customer calls for our non food online business. This audience will not be surprised to hear that independent surveys have consistently placed Teleperformance top for customer service.

“We have further plans for expansion in this region with stores planned in Dundonald, Bangor and in the North West. These will create hundreds if new jobs and create further opportunities for local suppliers. Within a very short time frame Sainsbury’s will have increased our NI presence from 9 stores to 15, from an employee base of 2,500 to around over 3,000. In my experience Sainsbury’s and Northern Ireland are good for each other.”

Manager of the Newry store Angus O’Neill detailed the impending improvements to the store.

“We are increasing the amount of space available for shoppers with a complete refurbishment of all customer facilities and the introduction of some exciting new services such as a rotisserie and an increased fresh grocery range. We are also expanding our warehouse facilities to support an enhanced product range. The refurbishment will take 10 weeks in total including a one week closure of the store, and will be completed by March 2010.

“Our Newry store attracts shoppers from across the local area and a significant number of cross border customers also. This store investment will benefit everyone.”