North Yorkshire retailer Barkers is counting down to the grand opening of its Northallerton Furnishing Store on Saturday (March 19).
A new cookshop department, named ‘Cook, Wine & Dine’ has been stocked, and shopfitters are putting the finishing touches to the interior.
Barkers has invested £3.5million in expanding the size of the store on Yafforth Road by 20,000sq ft to 60,000sq ft, to create a new section for contemporary furniture, homeware and accessories – including the cookshop.
To reflect the larger selection of products on sale, the extended Furnishing Store will be renamed Barkers Home.
Barkers managing director Charles Barker said: “We are a family business, which has been part of Northallerton for a long time and we plan to be around for many years into the future.
“This is an exciting time for us, as we have been working towards this new development for eight years. It would have gone ahead in 2008 but we put it on hold because of the banking crisis. We should never sit still. It’s important to have a policy of constant improvement to what we do, offering the best shopping experience that we can with exciting new products, good customer service, and some retail theatre.”
Barkers comprises a high street department store, a 20,000sq ft distribution centre, and the edge of town Furnishing Store. The department store, situated at 198-202 Northallerton High Street, offers fashion, lingerie, menswear, shoes, handbags, cosmetics, cards, luggage, gifts and homeware plus a restaurant and café.