Shoppers in Bury St Edmunds tell SuffolkNews what they think of new Primark at the arc Shopping Centre
More than 750 shoppers queued to get inside the new Primark in Bury St Edmunds this morning, five years after a Facebook page was started calling for a store to open in the town.
A DJ entertained customers as staff from Primark welcomed them into the branch at the arc Shopping Centre for the first time.
First through the door at 10am was Jodi Healy, 39, of Long Melford alongside her mum Jackie Smith, 61, of Bury St Edmunds.
Jodi said: “The shop feels really light and accessible and brilliant for physical shopping and bringing people to Bury.
“I loved the atmosphere it was really exciting.”
Timothy Norton, store manager, showed town mayor, Cllr Diane Hind, around the store before she cut the opening ribbon.
Mr Norton said: “It is really good to get good relationships with the mayor and members of the community from day one.”
He also thanked his staff who he said were passionate about the store.
Amy Carter and Jade Woods travelled from Ipswich to visit the Bury Primark on opening day.
After queuing for 15 minutes to get in Amy said: “The shop is bigger than I expected and it’s nicely spaced out.
“When we were in the queue I thought it might be a bit crowded but now we are inside it feels quite chilled.”
Louise Ridgwell, 52, of Bury, set up the Facebook group calling for a Primark in the town in 2019.
The mum, who ran the group alongside Michael Brown, said: “I expected a few hundred people to join my Facebook page at first but to date it has over 13,000 likes which just shows local people want clothing that is unbranded, affordable and accessible to the local area.
“Going to Cambridge or Ipswich is quite a journey by train or car and can be difficult for those that are disabled.
“Hopefully seeing Primark in our town will bring other businesses to the area and shoppers alike.”
Miss Ridgwell, who said she set up the page for the community, is looking forward to visiting the store with her daughter when she is back from university.
