Discount high street retailer to open in former M&Co locations following 170 shops closing – is one near you? | The Sun

A MAJOR discount retailer is launching 16 new stores over the next three months, with several branches occupying former M&CO shops.

The Original Factory Shop confirmed to The Sun it will open three stores this month.

A further eight locations will open their doors in September and five more in October.

The Original Factory Shop sells all sorts of items from clothing to homeware to stationery and has around 200 shops across the UK.

The new raft of stores will create 160 jobs and add stores to "the right places", including towns in the North, Midlands and Scotland.

Discount retailers are proving massively popular at the moment as prices go up across the board.

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The store is taking over several sites previously occupied by collapsed retailer M&CO.

The clothing brand shut all of its 170 stores in April after falling into administration last year.

The new locations getting an Origibnal Factory Shop over the next three months are:

• Kirkintilloch – opens August 24
• Stonehaven – opens August 31
• Blandford Forum – opens August 31
• Haddington – opens September 7
• Wetherby – opens September 7
• Nairn – opens September 14
• Ashbourne – opens September 14
• Castle Douglas – opens September 21
• Penrith – opens September 21
• Inverness – opens September 28
• Attleborough – opens September 28
• Ayr which – on October 5
• Ringwood – opens October 5
• Perth – opens October 12
• Lanark – opens October 19
• Peterhead – opens October 26

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The high street has generally struggled since the pandemic with huge numbers of store closures.

The Original Factory Shop closed two stores in Bideford and Stourport in May, prompting huge closing down sales at the time.

But the retailer is now growing, with plans to continue expanding onto the high street in new locations.

Phil Briggs, managing director for The Original Factory Shop, said: “Our investment in new store openings is about making sure we have the right stores in the right place.

"We’re identifying catchments where The Original Factory Shop is not represented and that includes a focus on high streets in major towns.” 

It's not the only retailer adding stores – Greggs recently announced it is opening eight new stores over August and September as part of a plan to open 150 stores this year.

Discount retailer Poundland also announced last month it was opening 15 new stores over the coming weeks.

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