Massive queue as new store opens doors at The Meadows

After months of anticipation the day has finally arrived for The Range, the newest superstore in Portadown, to open its doors.
Staff are joined by Lord Mayor, Alderman Gareth Wilson for The Range opening in PortadownStaff are joined by Lord Mayor, Alderman Gareth Wilson for The Range opening in Portadown
Staff are joined by Lord Mayor, Alderman Gareth Wilson for The Range opening in Portadown

The launch took place at 9am this morning, in Portadown Shopping Centre, where the store is now the largest tenant.

Around 350 customers queued from early on Friday morning for the eagerly awaited new store to open.

The branch in Portadown was officially opened by the Lord Mayor of Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon, Alderman Gareth Wilson.

He was joined for the opening by CEO of The Range, Nigel Oddy.

The crowd was overflowing with excitement and the ribbon cutting was met with smiles and applause.

The new store in Portadown is the fourth store to open in Northern Ireland following the successful launch there in 2016.

The Portadown store has brought 80 full and part-time jobs to the town, from store and office managers, to warehouse assistants and retail administrators.

Staff were joined by Captain Range, the company’s own mascot to welcome customers to the store.

Once open, shoppers couldn’t wait to explore their new store and find themselves some fantastic bargains.

The new store provides great value products across 16 departments, including Arts & Crafts,DIY, Homewares and Furniture.

There’s even a family café and outdoor garden centre.

There are fantastic offers for customers to enjoy running across all departments until 27th May.

The Range gave away prizes to the first 50 people in the queue, including a star prize for the first in-line.

In addition, Cool FM were in-store on opening morning to provide entertainment and music for the crowds.

They ran a competition for a handful of lucky customers to win a share of £250 in Range vouchers to spend in their new store.

There are more celebrations taking place over the weekend with free Trimcraft demos and free face painting by Snazaroo on Saturday.

There will also be free craft demos in-store by Design Objectives on Sunday 13th May.

Devon-based entrepreneur, Chris Dawson, the owner and founder of The Range commented on the opening, “It was great to see so many eager customers queuing for the Grand Opening in Portadown this morning. We hope that they all found themselves some fantastic bargains.”

He added, “We are really pleased to continue our rapid Northern Irish expansion this year. We are certain that the jobs we have created will be a welcome boost to the local area and expect that the new store will help to increase footfall within The Meadows Shopping Centre.

“We would like to thank the Centre Management and local council for their support in welcoming us to the town.”