RETAIL:RETAIL CHAIN Centra is to create 300 new jobs as it opens 20 new stores as part of a €10 million investment.

Half of the new jobs will be at new stores, with the remaining jobs created through the expansion of existing stores and from independent retailers joining the Centra network.

The jobs will bring to 15,000 the number of people employed by the Musgrave-owned chain.

Speaking at the company’s national retailer conference in Killarney yesterday, managing director of Centra Martin Kelleher said despite the difficult trading environment the company had recorded a good sales performance. It achieved €1.4 billion in sales in 2011, processing over three million customer transactions per week.

He said the chain’s members had been “quick to adapt to the budget-conscious consumer” by introducing initiatives such as rounded price points, multi-buys and bundle offers.

The chain, which has 458 stores in the Republic, said 75 per cent of products were produced or sourced in Ireland.