Two new retailers for Bury St Edmunds

The Suffolk town will see retailers Bestseller and Blacks open stores by June.

Developer of the scheme Centros, opened the centre last month with retailers including Debenhams, H&M and New Look.

Bestseller, which owns brands Vero Moda and Jack & Jones, has taken a 5,608 sq ft to trade on two levels with both brands. Blacks, the outdoor specialist, has taken a 4,411 sq ft store.

David Lewis, associate director of Centros, said: “With Hobbs, Animal and River Island all opening in the past week and HMV opening in May, this is more great news for arc’s shoppers. Bestseller in particular is a real coup for Bury St Edmunds as it is, we believe, the first time the company has taken a store in a town of this size. That just shows how strong an attraction both arc and the town offers to retailers.”

Andrew Farnham, country manager of Bestseller, said: ‘We are keen to expand our business into market towns in the UK and if there is one market town that meets all of our requirements, then Bury St Edmunds is it. The fact that Debenhams can open an almost full-size store here tells me just about everything I need to know. The town offers the right kind of customer profile for us; until the opening of arc it didn’t have enough shopping for its population; and the new development presented us with a very attractive environment.’