Doors open at new Primark store in Craigavon with 140 jobs created

Christmas came early for shoppers in Northern Ireland as Primark opened the doors to its brand-new store in Rushmere Shopping Centre, Craigavon.

Hundreds of eager customers queued from early this morning to enter the new store at 10am, which is the retailer’s ninth location in Northern Ireland.

A brand-new location for Primark, the new store has created 140 jobs for the local area and represents a £6 million investment by the fashion retailer, becoming a new anchor tenant at Rushmere Shopping Centre.

Customers were greeted by a tunnel of Primark employees as they entered the 30,800 sq. ft. store, which offers customers the latest everyday trends across womenswear, menswear, kidswear, beauty, lifestyle, and homewares all on one floor.

The new Primark Craigavon-Rushmere store is part of the retailer’s recent announcement to invest £140 million in its UK business over the next two years, by growing its store estate in addition to store upgrades and refurbishments planned for existing stores across the UK.

Speaking at the Primark Craigavon-Rushmere opening, Lord Mayor of Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough, Councillor Paul Greenfield said: “It is fantastic to be here today to mark the opening of this wonderful new Primark store in the popular Rushmere Shopping Centre. This has been a long-requested addition to the area, and it is clear from the excitement here this morning that the people of Craigavon and the surrounding areas have been looking forward to its opening.

"We welcome this investment by Primark and are pleased to see the creation of 140 new retail jobs which will no doubt be a boost to the local economy.”

Jacqui Byers, area manager for Primark Northern Ireland, explained: “We are delighted to open the doors at our brand-new Primark Craigavon store today, just in time for Christmas! This is an exciting new location for us, and we are proud to have expanded our presence across Northern Ireland and to see the people of Craigavon and surrounding towns in shopping with us today. Following the amazing reopening of Bank Buildings last month, our teams have worked tirelessly to get this new store up and running in time for Christmas, and I would like to thank my colleagues who have been working so hard to make sure we deliver the best in-store experience to our customers. So, whether it’s festive fashion, winter homewares or everyday essentials, there is something for everyone at Primark Craigavon!”

Martin Walsh, Rushmere centre manager, added: “We are thrilled to see the doors open at the fantastic new Primark store in Rushmere. This has been long requested by our customers and is a real boost ahead of Christmas. We are very confident that it will be a great success and have no doubt the new Primark employees will receive a warm welcome at Rushmere.”

The opening of Primark Craigavon-Rushmere follows just six weeks after the newly refurbished, five-storey flagship store at The Bank Buildings, Belfast reopened to the public on November 1.

This represented an investment of £100 million to renovate and restore this iconic building in the centre of Belfast city and bring it back to its full glory, while also creating 300 new jobs, as part of Primark’s ongoing commitment to retail in Northern Ireland. Since its grand reopening, customers have returned to visit the new flagship store in record numbers with queues forming at weekends outside the store by customers wanting to come in and see Primark’s unique in-store experience and fashion offering.

Primark Craigavon-Rushmere will stock popular licensed ranges including NBA, Disney and NFL as well as popular fashion trends and winter essentials. It will also offer a wide range of clothes and products under its growing Primark Cares label, as part of the retailer’s pledge to make more sustainable fashion affordable for everyone. Already, 45% of Primark’s clothes are made using recycled or more sustainably sourced materials, up from 25% when the retailer launched its sustainability strategy in September 2021.