Speculation surrounding new H&M for Wexford is dismissed

RUMOURS that H&M is to make its way to Wexford have been quashed by the retailer, who said that they have no plans to expand to Wexford in the near future.

Speculation has been rife for months that the Swedish retailer has made plans to set up a new store in Wexford town. However, speaking with this newspaper last week, spokesperson for the company Alice Russell said: ‘H&M have no upcoming expansion plans for Wexford.’

The retailer currently has 16 outlets in Ireland, ten of which are based in Dublin.

In recent weeks, the Selskar property which once housed the toyshop owned by the late George Bridges was rumoured to be a possible location for a new H&M store. However, owners of this property Kent Stainless said that they have an auctioneer over the project and that they are not aware of any deal with the retailer.

President of Wexford Cham- ber Karl Fitzpatrick said that he has met with H&M representatives in recent months, who informed him that they had no plans to open in Wexford within the next 12 months.

However, he said that if they are to expand to Wexford in future, the town is likely to see a huge benefit.

‘ There’s no doubt that we would benefit from having shops like H&M in Wexford. It would be a very positive development for the town,’ he said. ‘However, in a place where every unit and property has a different landlord, it can be very hard to get joined up thinking on it.’

Mr Fitzpatrick said it can be difficult to secure big name stores such as H&M in as they have very specific criteria on where they set up.

‘ They look for an absolutely prime location of a certain size with favourable rental deals,’ he said. ‘ They see themselves as an anchor store that can bring new traffic into the town and make it easier to rent vacant premises next door.’