 | |
 The Quays exterior | |
| Location | Newry, County Down, Northern Ireland |
|---|---|
| Opening date | October 1998 |
| No. of stores and services | 55 |
| No. of anchor tenants | 3 |
| Website | www.thequays.co.uk |
The Quays Shopping Centre (or The Quays Newry) is a major retail and leisure centre situated in Newry, County Armagh and is one of Northern Ireland's top shopping destinations with its anchor tenants being Sainsbury's and Marks & Spencer. The centre also contains a 10 screen cinema operated by Omniplex Cinemas and has over 1,000 car parking spaces.
History
The Sainsbury's store opened in October 1998, while the rest of the centre opened in 1999.[1] The Quays was constructed on the site of the old coal yards which served the Albert Basin. An old warehouse, which was part of these yards was incorporated into the centre and is now used as office and retail space.
Roches Stores opened their first store in Northern Ireland in the centre in 1999, but this store was closed in February 2003 to make way for a new Debenhams store which opened in October 2004, and later closed in 2021. [2]
In February 2018, Marks & Spencer relocated from the Buttercrane Centre to The Quays where a new 30,000 sq ft store was built on the site of the old Sainsbury's filling station.[3]
In September 2023, Domino's announced that they are planning would open a restaurant in the new part of the shopping centre, and if approved, would mean it would be the first time a major retailer had opened in the centre for nearly four years.[4]
Cross-border shopping
The centre has experienced shoppers from the Republic of Ireland, who cross the border to Newry to buy cheaper goods due to difference in currency. This remarkable increase in cross-border trade has become so widespread that it has lent its name to a general phenomenon known as the Newry effect.[5]
Tenants
Main area (opened in 1999)
- Sainsbury's (anchor tenant)
- Argos (located in Sainsbury's)
- River Island
- Buzzard Comics
- Waterstones
- Skechers
- Boots
- Semichem
- H&M
- Superdry
- Starbucks
- Eddie Rocket's
- Caffè Nero
- Claire's
- Søstrene Grene
- Pavers Shoes
- Smiggle
Outside area (opened in 1999, expanded in 2017)
- Marks & Spencer (anchor tenant)
- Next
- PureGym
- DFI Beds NI
- O'Neills
- Bravo Live Cuisine
References
- ↑ "North meets South over the shop counters at the Quays". The Irish Times. 24 March 1999.
- ↑ "Debenhams' proposed Newry branch will create 230 jobs". 4ni.co.uk. 5 December 2002. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
- ↑ "M&S opens new Newry store". The Irish News. 2 February 2018.
- ↑ McKenna, Micheal (16 September 2023). "Domino's cooking up plans for new restaurant at Newry shopping centre". Armagh I. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
- ↑ "Cross-border shopping can keep the euro in your pocket". Irish Independent. 30 November 2008.