A new Marks & Spencer store will open in Co Armagh later this year.
The development is currently proceeding at the former B&Q premises at Highfield in Craigavon.
There had been much rumour and speculation locally that it may have been put on the long finger following other highly-publicised closure plans.
But the major high street retailer has allayed those concerns.
It will have no effect on the Co Armagh store – which will also incorporate a cafe – with construction continuing as planned.
An M&S representative confirmed that the store – which will stretch to almost 7,500 sq ft – will open in the autumn.
It was last September that Armagh I confirmed the creation of up to 80 new jobs
The 50-seater Food Hall will be located in the Marlborough Retail Park in Craigavon.
The company opened its first Northern Ireland store in Donegall Place, Belfast on September 7, 1967.
And it used the 50th birthday of that momentous occasion to reveal the Co Armagh expansion plans.
M&S Chief Executive, Steve Rowe, pledged the retailer’s “continued commitment to the region” at that time, adding: “We hope the next 50 years in Northern Ireland will be every bit as special as the last.”
M&S also operates a Food Hall at the Spires Retail Park in Armagh, and recently opened a major new outlet – comprising the full range of food, clothing and other goods – at the Quays Shopping Centre in Newry.
The development of the Craigavon store will be a major boost on the employment front when completed, with in the region of 100 jobs already created during the construction phase alone.
