The Range to create 80 jobs with Ipswich opening

The Range is due to open a second Ipswich store on 2nd June on Anglia Retail Park, creating 80 new jobs.

It already has a branch at the Suffolk Retail Park on London Road – a location that has suffered from serious access problems for many years with cars sometimes queueing for an hour get into and out of the car park on busy weekends.

The new location, will occupy part of the former B&Q store that closed in August 2016 and planning permission for the conversion was granted by Ipswich Council earlier this year as part of a relaunch of the retail park. It will take up a significant part of the former B&Q store and the unit will be shared with Bounce Trampoline Centre which is due to open in May, a new Go Outdoors store and a new Dunelm store.

When the application was made to the council, it said: “The Range is seeking to relocate their existing store at Suffolk Retail Park in Ipswich as Anglia Retail Park is a more preferable trading location for the retailer.”

However a spokeswoman for The Range said that it now planned to operate both stores in the town – despite the fact that they are only a mile apart. It is understood that the existing store will eventually be converted into a Range Outlet store selling discontinued end of range items at an even greater discount than the normal stores – but no date has been set.

The Range is owned and run by Devon-based entrepreneur Chris Dawson who started out as a market stall trader across the South West of England. Mr Dawson opened his first superstore in 1989 in his home town of Plymouth and the company has grown significantly over the last 28 years.

The Range sells items across 16 categories including DIY, arts and crafts, home interiors and household goods. The new store will have a large seasonal department selling garden furniture, barbecues and solar lighting.

Mr Dawson said: “The new Ipswich store comes at a time of massive expansion for the company. We have already opened multiple new stores in 2017 and have many more planned for over the summer. The job generation that will come with this new store is sure to be a tremendous boost for the local economy and a positive addition to the retail park. 

“We look forward to welcoming the local community to their new store to explore the vast selection of quality products at low prices.”

Source: Insight Team

Interested in hearing about all new store opens by The Range? Sign up for our weekly Insight DIY newsletter here.