Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Toy store set to open
Summer date earmarked for opening of new shop
A NATIONWIDE chain of toy stores is preparing to open its first branch at a Dundee retail park in the summer, it was announced today.
The new Smyths Toys Superstores emporium will be based in part of the redeveloped Venue nightclub building, which occupies part of The Stack Leisure Park in Lochee.
The Smyths plans were first announced by The Stack’s operator, Home Bargains firm TJ Morris, earlier this year, alongside plans to introduce a gym to the same building.
Today, a spokeswoman for Smyths Toy Stores said that a provisional opening date of June had been signed off.
The store will be the eighth the Irish firm has opened in Scotland, joining others i n Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Inverness.
The spokeswoman said: “We intend to open in June, dependent on the landlord handing over possession of the unit to us.
“They are redeveloping the unit to enable our occupation.
“Watch our website for a precise date on when the official opening will be.”
More t han £750,000 is being invested in the refurbishment and stripping-out of the former Venue nightclub, which has lain derelict for more than 20 years.
Alongside the Smyths development, nationwide operator The Gym Group has now been linked to plans to bring a new all-day fitness centre to The Stack.
The firm, which has more than 100 locations across the UK, intends to open its “24 hours a day, 7 days a week” facility sometime in the spring, in an adjacent unit to Smyths.
A statement from The Gym Group read: “Across the UK, thousands of people have found their fit with The Gym.
“In spring, you can too as we bring our great value, flexible fitness to Dundee.”
Paul Smith, of Lochee Traders, said the two openings would be welcomed, as they aren’t “treading on anyone’s toes” on the nearby High Street.
He added: “We hope to get footfall from these developments. “These won’t do us any harm. “There is the potential for some good to come of this for us, at this stage.”
The Gym Group will plug a gap left by Sports Direct, whose plans to bring a £5m fitness centre and superstore to the Venue collapsed in 2016.