IRISH RETAIL and wholesale bookseller Eason has boosted its presence in Belfast city centre by acquiring a leasehold property at 40-46 Donegall Place from British rival WH Smith.
This store is roughly twice the size of Eason’s existing shop in Donegall Place, which the company plans to close in April next.
Eason will trade from both stores on the busy shopping street until January next. It will then close the WH Smith store for refurbishment with a view to re-opening it in April.
At that point, the existing Eason shop will close.
Eason owns the freehold on 20 Donegall Place and plans to lease it to another entity.
The closure will lead to a reduction in the combined 63-strong workforce.
Eason said yesterday that it had not yet finalised what level of staffing would be required for the new store but a voluntary redundancy programme will be offered to staff to trim its headcount.
Eason employs 26 staff in its existing store, while the WH Smith outlet has 37 employees.
All of the WH Smith staff will transfer to Eason on November 5th.
Eason managing director Conor Whelan said the deal would allow the company to build its presence in the North, where it has 14 shops.
“Expanding our retail presence in Belfast will allow us grow our business and roll out our new strategic retail offering to customers in Northern Ireland,” he said.
The WH Smith store covers 1,837 square metres, roughly twice the size of its existing shop. It will continue to trade under the WH Smith brand, under licence to Eason, until January next.
Eason has 63 stores in Ireland, employing more than 1,000 staff. Its turnover, including joint ventures, was €298 million in the year to January 2011.
