CastleCourt to open four new outlets bringing 43 new jobs to the Belfast retail centre

CastleCourt has announced the opening of four new retail outlets in May and June, creating 43 new jobs throughout the Belfast shopping centre.

MINISO, the design-led retail store which offers a full range of high quality and innovative products from toys and tech to stationery, homeware, health and beauty, will open its first store in Northern Ireland at CastleCourt on Friday (May 5), creating up to 15 jobs.

Poundland opens its new store on Saturday (May 6), which provides more than double the retail space of its previous unit. Now at 18,000 sq. ft., the outlet is situated on the ground floor of CastleCourt and will create an additional 10 jobs on top of their current 15 staff. The brand-new superstore will bring new products and services not seen before within its range at CastleCourt including Pep & Co clothing and shoes, and a larger range of fresh groceries alongside frozen food lines.

The final opening this month (May 24) will see New Look return to CastleCourt with an outlet boasting up to 8,000 sq. ft. of fashion and accessories in their prominent ground floor unit, creating 15 jobs.

Long-term tenant Exclusive Designs will take up the 8,000 sq. ft. unit vacated by Poundland and will open in June. The furniture store operated by Danielle Maxwell will retain their five current staff and create three new roles as it moves to a space four times bigger than its previous outlet.

Leona Barr, centre manager at CastleCourt Shopping Centre, said: “After an exciting start to the year where we officially opened The Avenue cinema and brought a whole new hospitality and leisure offering to Belfast City Centre, we are delighted to bring even more news of our retail offering here at CastleCourt and create 43 new jobs in the process.

“MINISO is an incredibly exciting brand to welcome exclusively to CastleCourt in Northern Ireland. The store enjoys exclusive partnerships with so many well-loved brands such as Disney, Toy Store, Minions, Sanrio and We Bare Bears, and proudly collaborates with a team of international designers from China, Korea, Sweden and Denmark, amongst others, which brings an entirely unique proposition to Belfast.

“Poundland opens its all-new store on our ground floor bringing even more everyday essentials at value prices for our shoppers. The retailer has transformed the 18,000 sq. ft. unit into a one-stop shop with men, women and children’s clothing, and fresh and frozen ranges now also available alongside its usual collection of homeware and store cupboard essentials.

“We are thrilled to welcome New Look back to a prime retail space at the front of the Mall, taking up a unit left vacant by Debenhams and contributing to the continued regeneration of our on-street frontage.

“Finally, Exclusive Designs is quadrupling its retail space here, a testament to the growth of the business in recent years. The new store will create a whole new home from home for shoppers to browse the array of products, plus a collection designed by owner Danielle Maxwell. There will be plenty of inspiration in-store for our shoppers when it opens in June.”

Saad Usman, COO at MINISO UK, added: "We're delighted to announce the launch of our store at CastleCourt, Belfast – our first in Northern Ireland. We believe that the opening of this store is the perfect place for us to continue our expansion in the UK.”

"At MINISO UK, we're committed to getting the retail industry back on its feet, demonstrated not only by the investment into our fantastic new store, but also the creation of 10-15 new jobs in the local market.”

Gareth Howell from Wirefox, which owns CastleCourt, added: “An exciting year for CastleCourt continues as we welcome three new retail outlets under our roof. Our ambition to make CastleCourt a top retail, leisure and hospitality destination in Belfast City Centre, alongside the regeneration of the northern end of the city centre, is making great strides, particularly after the opening of The Avenue and as our retail offering goes from strength to strength. We look forward to more announcements for our shoppers and the wider area as the year continues.”