One-stop shop for outdoors
THE UK’s fastest growing outdoor retailer has not ruled out further expansion on Teesside after announcing plans to open a new store in Stockton, creating more than 40 jobs.
GO Outdoors has taken a 15-year lease on a 40,000 sq ft themed unit on Portrack Retail Park as it looks to grow its number of outlets from 13 to 30 by 2011 and create 1,000 new retail jobs nationwide. It follows an £18m refinancing package set up with Bank of Scotland Corporate early last year.
Following the opening of its Wolverhampton and Bristol stores, the Sheffield-based company is investing £5m in Stockton and two other stores in Pudsey and the South-east, creating more than 150 new jobs.
MD John Graham said Stockton was the best of three possible sites across the North-east.
He said: “People in the North-east have a real tendency to go walking or climbing. We chose the Stockton site for its location, size and close proximity to main transport routes. We’d be quite happy to open other stores in Teesside if opportunities arose.”
He described the company as “a one-stop shop for outdoor enthusiasts”, with a climbing wall and more than 1,500 sq m of synthetic turf.
Due to open on March 28, the outlet is a major boost for the Portrack Industrial Estate, which has yet to find an occupant for Woolworths’ former 100,000 sq ft Big W store.
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