Athlone Town Centre has been a resounding success since its opening in November. With an exciting range of stores, unrivalled customer service and ease of access, Ireland's newest retail centre is putting the midlands on the map as a shopping and leisure destination. After Athlone Town Centre officially opened on November 1 2007, almost 500,000 shoppers were recorded in the first ten days, making it the most successful retail scheme ever launched in Ireland. The exciting new retail centre provides a massive boost to the region, which is destined to have remarkable economic and social knock-on effects within the locality. Athlone Town Centre has been heralded as 'the Grafton Street of the midlands', an analogy that stands up not only by virtue of the variety of retailers present in the centre but also in terms of their retail performance. Retail giants like Marks & Spencer, River Island and Warehouse have all reported brisk early business comparable only to that on the capital's main shopping thoroughfare. In the opening week, record sales were also recorded by H&M, Monsoon, Coast, Jack & Jones, Fields Jewellers, Promod, Du Pareil au Meme and JD Sports, all of whom trebled their opening-week forecasts. With six shoppers per square metre in Athlone as opposed to three in Dublin, Athlone Town Centre is filling a major gap in retail supply to the midlands region. Spanning 300,000 sq. ft over two levels, the new centre features some of the biggest names in international fashion. Zara, H&M, Marks & Spencer, Next, Tommy Hilfiger and Esprit have all chosen to locate in the new fashion heart of Ireland. Athlone Town Centre will also feature an international four star Sheraton Hotel. Opening in April 2008, this will be only the second Sheraton Hotel in Ireland and will feature a unique Urban Spa. The combination of the retail and hotel facilities under one roof will place Athlone firmly at the top of the list of leisure destinations in Ireland. The new retail complex is completely customer-focused. Over 1,300 underground parking spaces - along with designated special needs parking zones - are available at Athlone Town Centre, which is proud to offer a full range of customer services and facilities including: dedicated customer service desk; baby changing rooms; mother feeding rooms; ATMs; public phones; internet access; and First Aid. With over 70 stores within 300,000 sq. ft. of retail space and a variety of cafes and restaurants catering for all tastes, Athlone Town Centre is truly a fashionable destination, with leading Irish and international retailers offering the best and most sophisticated in style. Athlone Town Centre guarantees an unrivalled choice of top brands, unbeatable value and longer opening hours, giving customers even more time to shop. Masterminded by local firm Gallico Developments and generating approximately 1,000 jobs, the new purpose-built shopping facility has completely transformed the town centre. This transformation was especially poignant over the Christmas period, as Athlone took on a new life. It goes without saying that commercial director Gerry Mulcahy has been delighted by the dramatic impact of Ireland's newest regional shopping centre: "It offers the people of the region an alternative to Dublin. Traditionally, local people have had to trek to Liffey Valley and Blanchardstown in particular and the new centre provides an alternative right on their own doorstep. "Over the first four days, we recorded just short of 200,000 shoppers, which is extremely high by any standards. All the stores reported a level of trading that was way above expectations and most of them said it was the best opening period they ever had anywhere. Some recorded four times their projected targets. An average sale of 46 euro per transaction was also 33% higher than expected so, all in all, we got off to a great start." Athlone Town Centre has been made all the more desirable by its convenience in terms of location and accessibility. Only 800 metres from the new Dublin-Galway motorway, it offers hassle-free access from all routes. "Traffic has been flowing quite freely," Gerry continues. "Shoppers can come in by rail, bus, car or on foot. The railway depot is only 300 metres away, with 36 trains per day coming through Athlone. Athlone is also a hub of the national bus network, with 70 regional buses per day stopping here." So what does the future hold for Athlone Town Centre? "We are extremely confident that it will be a major long-term success. The centre offers a stunning mix of international and local stores - something for everybody under one roof, with a beautiful streetscape design. We have created just over 1,000 jobs and this figure will rise by another 250 when the Sheraton Athlone comes on stream. Most of these jobs have gone to local people or to people who have decided to relocate to the midlands from cities, which is also great for the local economy." Thankfully, the new development has not impacted adversely on existing businesses in the area. In fact, the contrary is the case. "Local retailers expressed pre-opening concerns but they have actually recorded a significant increase in business, so all boats have risen and all business is up," Gerry reveals. "We are providing a major draw into the midlands and everybody in the region is set to benefit from that. "Athlone Town Centre is a logical alternative to travelling to west Dublin. This is also good from an environmental point of view, as we are taking about 18,000 cars per week off the M50. Once the hotel opens, Athlone will have huge appeal in terms of destination shopping." Athlone Town Centre is placing Westmeath on the map like never before. It's a development that everybody in the county should be proud of. Tweet

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