IT has now been confirmed that Tesco is coming back to Shannon Town Centre after a 16 year absence.
The retailer will actually be returning to the area of the Centre where it was once based, with the reopening set to happen in the near future.
Shannon Town Centre manager Kacper Zybert said that the deal has been concluded with Tesco.
“It has been confirmed, everything has been set up, they will be here shortly,” he said.
He said that the final date of Tesco opening hasn’t been established yet.
“It depends on a few things, I don’t have the date yet,” he said.
“What’s happening at the moment is that Dealz has to be moved and until we have the unit finished for Dealz then they can’t come in.”
However he hoped it will be very soon, potentially by the end of April.
“We have the Dealz unit nearly ready. All we have to do is glaze the windows inside and out, and Dealz can take over then,” he said.
The fact that Tesco is going back to its old site makes the move far easier than it would otherwise.
“It was the same unit, that’s why it’s no problem for them to move in. That’s part of what’s behind it, with other brands there were restrictions and things like that, but it suits Tesco,” he said.
Mr Zybert feels the arrival of the retailer will be a huge boost.
“I think it’s going to make a big impact, not just on the Centre, but the whole town,” he said.
“I’m aiming to make Shannon Town Centre a grocery destination. You will have Dunnes, Tesco, Dealz and Lidl in one spot. Basically with one trolley you can get all the bargains.”
More jobs are going to be created.
“If you look at Tesco Coonagh they have 40 or 50 people working with them. The construction will also create a few jobs. And probably I will have to hire more staff here because we would expect thousands more people a week,” he said.
“At the moment we have 60,000 people coming in. Tesco’s footfall should be around 20,000 to 30,000 a week. The overall impact of Tesco will probably be less than 20,000, but Tesco isn’t the only one that’s coming in, there’s lots more. By the end of the year we’re planning to fill up the Centre fully.”
He says a new community facility across from Dunnes Stores has been opened and is being used quite a lot.
“We have created a community centre now, we have started having classes in the shopping centre,” he said.
“There are pilates classes, yoga classes, we have dancing classes. It’s being rented by hour to instructors. On Monday we had Pilates classes with 20 people, she was fully booked out, she’s now looking at Wednesdays and Thursdays.”
There are also heel dancing classes and hip hop classes for children will be starting. Mr Zybert is positive about the Shannon Town Centre Masterplan and is hopeful it will see local improvements in the coming years.
“We just want the town to develop,” he said.
Tesco is set to open from 7.30am to 10pm.
Owen Ryan has been a journalist with the Clare Champion since 2007, having previously worked with a number of other publications in Limerick, Cork and Galway. His first book will be published in December 2024.