Countdown to opening of The Range at Meadows Shopping Centre

The Range in Portadown on will officially open tomorrow (Friday, May 11).

Building work has been taking place for some time to enable the chain to take over a large portion of the Portadown shopping centre, with a huge redevelopment of the site.

The fourth branch of the retailer in Northern Ireland will be officially opened by special guest, the Lord Mayor of Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon, Alderman Gareth Wilson.

The Range is creating thousands of much needed jobs for the retail sector and the new store in Portadown is no exception, creating over 80 part-time and full-time jobs; from store and department managers to warehouse workers and administrators.

The new branch comes at a time of expansion for the UK retailer which now operates over 150 stores across the UK and Ireland.

Teams have been working around the clock to get the store ready for the big reveal.

The new store will provide a wide variety of products across 16 departments, including DIY, Homewares, Arts & Crafts and Soft Furnishings.

The Portadown branch will also have a family café serving a wide selection of food and drink and an outdoor garden centre.

An opening offer will be available for customers who spend £5 or more in the café. They will receive 20% off their final café bill between 11th–27th May.

The grand opening will begin with giveaways for the first 50 people in the queue, including a star prize of the Alicante Bar Set (worth £150) for the first in-line.

The Cool FM promo team will be in-store on opening morning to provide entertainment. They will be running a competition for a handful of lucky customers to win a share of £250 to spend at their new store.

There will be some fantastic opening offers running across all departments until 27th May with some great bargains to choose from.

The Range is thrilled to announce that the company’s very own mascot, Captain Range, will be attending to provide balloons and entertainment for the young and young at heart!

The celebrations are set to continue over the weekend, with craft demos by Trimcraft on Saturday, May 12, and DO crafts on Sunday, May 13.

Chris Dawson, the owner and founder of The Range said, “Each store plays an important part in the success of our company and Portadown is no exception.

“It will be a great step in the progression and growth of the company in Northern Ireland.

“We are very lucky with the staff we have and I look forward to welcoming the new team members to the company. I would like to invite the community of Portadown and further afield to join us for the opening next week and discover the fantastic selection of products that we offer.”

Owned and run by entrepreneur and self-made billionaire, Chris Dawson, The Range started life as a market stall trading across the South West of England.

The first store was opened in 1989 under the name CDS (Chris Dawson Superstores) and there are now over 150 stores across the UK and Ireland.•