Borders Books & Music - Retail Development - Cornwall, St Columb Major
Date: 16 Jan 2002
Borders Books & Music, one of the UK's fastest growing retailers, is to create a new 50,000 sq ft distribution centre in St Columb Major, Cornwall to service its 12 existing superstores and facilitate the continuing expansion of the chain.
Borders also announced today that they have signed contracts for a 20,000 sq. ft Borders Books Music Cafe store to open this Autumn at the Lakeside Retail Park in Thurrock, Essex, the second of five new Borders stores planned for 2002. The next scheduled opening will be in Islington, North London in May.
Speaking at the handover ceremony for the new distribution centre in St Columb Major, a £3.5 million development jointly funded by the South West Regional Development Agency and Cornwall's Objective One European funding programme, Philip Downer, managing director of Borders Books & Music, said: "We are particularly delighted to have found this purpose-built, cost-efficient site only some 24 miles from our current distribution centre in Penryn, enabling most of our existing high quality workforce to relocate to the new facility. We will be recruiting 30 additional staff this year and another 30 in 2003, as we continue to open stores around the country, starting with our next two superstores, which will open in Islington and Thurrock during the next few months."
Borders will increase its presence around London this Autumn, when it opens at the Lakeside Retail Park off the M25 in Thurrock, Essex. "Thurrock is one of the most popular retail destinations in the country," said Philip Downer, "but it has historically been under-provided with bookshops. We are delighted to have the opportunity of bringing the family-oriented format we have developed at Cheshire Oaks and Fort Kinnaird to this well established centre, where we plan to create a store that will be architecturally distinctive as well as convenient for shopping and browsing."
Designed with a single large trading floor plus a mezzanine café, the 20,000 sq. ft site is ideally located on one of the spine roads linking the retail park with the nearby shopping mall.
Curry's, PC World and JJB Sports are already trading in the first phase of the retail park, while adjacent parts of the integrated retail and entertainment development feature Ikea, Costco, Tesco and two cinema complexes.
Development work has started on a 22,000 sq. ft store due to open at the new N1 Centre in Islington, North London in May - the brand's first Central London store outside the West End. A 150,000 sq. ft retail, entertainment and leisure complex opposite the Angel Tube Station, linking the busy shopping areas of Upper Street and Liverpool Road, the N1 Centre includes a Warner Cinema, four restaurants, the Marquee Jazz Club and major retailers like Boots, Gap and French Connection. "We anticipate a big evening and late night trade," said Philip Downer, "and we hope visitors will respond to our long opening hours and the spacious, open feel of the store." On two floors, the store will feature Borders trademark mix of books, music, videos and periodicals, plus a Paperchase department and Starbucks Cafe. Mark Cocks, currently support general manager at Borders Cambridge and previously at the Oxford Street store, has been appointed general manager.
Borders agents for both deals were Reid Rose Gregory and Jones Lang Lasalle. Further announcements will be made shortly. Borders plans to open up to five superstores around the country this year, which will give the brand a total of 17 stores, employing over 1000 people and occupying nearly half a million square feet of retail space.
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