Shaws to create 20 jobs at new Clonmel store due to open in April

Irish-owned department store chain Shaws will open a new shop in Clonmel's Showgrounds Shopping Centre in April creating 20 new jobs.

The 162-year-old family run retail business began recruiting staff for its latest new store this week.

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Meanwhile, work is underway on transforming two vacant units at the Davis Road based Showgrounds Centre into Shaws’ 17th Irish store.

Shaws Marketing Manager Gerard Osborne said the company is leasing a large unit at the shopping centre where a branch of the British supermarket chain Iceland was formerly located and a smaller unit next door. The store will be 9,000sq.ft.in size.

The company’s decision to open a store in Clonmel will be a major boost for the town, which has suffered the closure of several promiment shops in recent years.

It will also follow hot on the heels of the welcome opening of a branch of Carraig Donn on the town’s O’Connell Street last October.

Mr Osborne said Clonmel’s Shaws store will be similar in concept and size to their Athlone store opened in October 2024.

It will sell men’s, women’s and children’s fashions and lingerie with Mango among the major labels stocked in its women’s section. There will also be beauty and homeware sections.

The store will operate a click and collect service where people can purchase fashions, beauty and homeware products on the Shaws website if they are not available in the Clonmel store and collect them there.

Mr Osborne said the shop will employ 20 part-time and full-time staff. Recruitment ads are now available to view on the company’s website.

Shaws is one of Ireland’s oldest and most respected retail chains with its headquarters based in Portlaoise. It has decided to expand its chain of stores to Clonmel as its believes there is a gap in the retail market in this part of Tipperary.

“The business is always looking at provincial towns and new opportunities and there is a big demand in south Tipperary to fill that gap between our stores in Dungarvan and Roscrea,” Mr Osborne explained.

“This opening (at the Showgrounds) came up and we thought it fitted what we wanted.

“The Showgrounds is a super centre with great potential. It’s an opportunity we couldn’t refuse.”

An opening date for the new store hasn’t yet been decided but the company is aiming for early April.

Mr Osborne said Shaws will celebrate the occasion by hosting a launch weekend of celebrations including giveaway competitions for customers. Details of the official opening and launch weekend will be posted on the Shaws website and social media platforms.

The front of the Shaws store in Athlone gives an indication of what the Clonmel store will look like at the Showgrounds Shopping Centre

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