Peacocks boosting Suffolk towns
NATIONAL fashion chain Peacocks are set to open stores in two former Suffolk Woolworths stores, giving shopping centres in two towns a huge boost.One of the biggest complaints in Felixstowe for many years has been the lack of children's and teenage clothing, and cheaper menswear, in the town - with people having to travel to Ipswich and Colchester to shop for such items.
NATIONAL fashion chain Peacocks are set to open stores in two former Suffolk Woolworths stores, giving shopping centres in two towns a huge boost.
One of the biggest complaints in Felixstowe for many years has been the lack of children's and teenage clothing, and cheaper menswear, in the town - with people having to travel to Ipswich and Colchester to shop for such items.
Now Peacocks is understood to be set to open in Hamilton Road in the old Woolworths store - currently temporarily being used as a Everything �1 shop - in early autumn.
The company, which has been advertising for managerial staff for the store, confirmed its target opening date is September 27.
It is also planning to open a Stowmarket store in August, again in the town's former Woolworth - the stores are part of around a dozen new shops this year nationwide.
Peter Dawes, chairman of Felixstowe Chamber of Trade and Commerce, said the chamber was aware of Peacock's interest in taking over half the former Woolworth store, which is being divided in two.
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“To have an established chain come into a big unit like that will be good for the longer term future and we now hope someone else can be found to fill the other half of it,” he said.
Town and district councillor Doreen Savage was thrilled to hear Peacocks were coming.
“That is brilliant news - it's a good store for men's, children's and teenagers' clothes and we have a real need for those in our shopping centre,” she said.
“Felixstowe appears to be bucking the trend at the moment. We have very few empty shops and have had new ones open.”
Will Peacocks be good for Felixstowe? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN, or e-mail eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk
FASTFACTS: Peacocks
Peacocks was founded in Warrington in 1884 by Albert Frank Peacock, trading as Peacocks Penny Bazaars.
His son Harold moved the business to Cardiff in the 1940s and the business grew steadily. In April 1997, Richard Kirk led a management buy-out.
Peacocks was listed on the London Stock Exchange in December 1999 and the group acquired bonmarche in May 2002. It became a private company in 2006.
The company has 550 clothing stores across the UK.
Peacocks' first international store opened in Bahrain March 2004 and it now has 76 International stores in eastern Europe and the Middle East.
