Home Bargains to revamp old Woolies

A discount retailer will plough £500,000 into refurbishing Stourbridge's vacant former Woolworths store when it moves in, creating up to 30 new jobs, it was revealed today.

Home Bargains will take over the unit at the town's Ryemarket Centre in September. Officials from TJ Morris Ltd, which trades as Home Bargains, said they would invest half a million pounds on a refit. The work is due to take three months with the new-look store set to open in time for Christmas. Home Bargains' operations director Joe Morris confirmed the six-figure spend.

He said: "We will be investing about £500,000 in the Stourbridge store and this includes new flooring, air conditioning, electric doors and the best possible racking for display purposes. Because the work is so extensive we work on about a three-month programme for this work.

"It's a very high investment and we always want to do things properly to give our customers the best possible goods and service."

Mr Morris added between 25 and 30 staff would be recruited and he encouraged former Woolworths employees made redundant when the chain collapsed to apply.

Business leaders in Stourbridge have welcomed the news the unit will soon be trading again. Chamber of Trade chairman Chris Icke said it was a "much needed boost" while Ryemarket centre manager Karl Taylor added he was "delighted".

The discount chain is already preparing to open a store in The Churchill Centre, Dudley, in April in addition to its existing branch in Brierley Hill.