Eager queues as new store opens doors
80 jobs created and charity benefits from donation at first day of trading
THE new B&M superstore has officially opened in Portsmouth.
The doors have officially opened at the store at Ocean Retail Park.
Queues of excited customers waited outside the store from 8am to get their hands on the first bargains of the day.
The store’s staff were joined by representatives from charity Pompey in the Community and Pompey player Haji Mnoga to officially cut the ribbon and declare it open.
The charity was chosen by staff as they felt the cause was a worthy and important one that deserves recognition for what it does in the city.
Their mascot, Nelson the Dog, also gave a helping paw at the opening.
Staff presented Brad Lethbridge and Leon Maloney from the charity with a cheque of £250 to the charity.
Store manager Theresa Abbot said: ‘The team at Pompey in the Community really stood out for us as they go the extra mile for local people in the community, we wanted to give them some VIP treatment as a thank you for all the hard work they do.
‘We hope that our donation can help them to continue the great work they do. It’s nice that our donation is going to something local that does good.’
The new team spent just over two weeks from start to finish kitting out the new store, allowing team members to bond and build up their knowledge on the brand and its products.
Staff have come from other stores including the existing store in Farlington to offer training and support.
Graham Wigmore has been trained by another member of staff from the Farlington store and has won the Employee Build of the Store award.
He said: ‘It’s been good so far. It’s been a good experience and I hope everything goes well.’
The store has employed around 80 members of staff.
Theresa said: ‘[The team] have worked extremely hard to get where we are today. We wouldn’t have been able to do it without them.’
The Portsmouth store, which also has a garden centre, is one of the bigger B&M stores in the country.
The new Smyth’s toy store at Ocean Retail Park was due to open on Saturday.