Shoppers delighted as TJ Hughes re-opens in Corby

High street favourite TJ Hughes opened its new Corby store today (Thursday, May 11), after 12 years of absence from the town.

Now in a new location within Willow Place, the shop is occupying the 23,000 sq ft units previously occupied by several Arcadia group stores and Pep & Co, overlooking Queen's Square.

Since the previous TJ Hughes branch closed in August 2011 with the loss of 27 jobs, the fortunes of the popular chain store have been revived.

The new store, selling its range of worldwide designer brands and quality goods at discounted prices, is expected to create up to 30 jobs.

Simon Harmer, COO of TJ Hughes said: “To be back in Corby is great for the brand. There’s been a lot of enthusiasm from the local community.

“It’s great when you enter a town where the community is as such where they interact with the business. It’s been a very warm welcome and hopefully we can do the population proud.”

The first 30 customers of the new store were treated to a £10 off discount voucher.

One shopper said: “It’s good that we’re getting more shops in the town, we need more shops in Corby.”

Another shopper said: “It’s great, it should never have closed in the first place. Everything is under one roof.”

Another said: “It’s a good family friendly shop. Everything under one roof, for a reasonable price.”

Many of the shoppers there this morning had previously used the old TJ Hughes shops in both Corby and Kettering.

Simon Harmer said: “[Kettering is] on our radar, it’s not as easy just to open wherever we wish to open at the click of a finger.

“There’s a lot of work to be done wherever we want to open but we have had stores in Kettering before and we know what Kettering can deliver for us.

“We know that the public want it, so it definitely is on our radar but at this moment in time we don't have the [ability] to be able to say yes.”

The new Corby store will offer not only essentials, but ‘innovative and inspiring’ products, with ‘regularly-updated and ‘affordable’ product lines.

They stock brands including such household names as Morphy Richards, Nike and Wrangler.