Penneys has opened a new €16 million store in Dublin's Dundrum Town Centre, creating an additional 130 jobs. 

The new store was officially opened on Thursday, June 22, by Neale Richmond, Ireland's Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade, and Employment, and features a wider range of women's, men's, and children's clothes. 

It additionally features a beauty department and an expanded homeware collection. 

The new store also includes an in-store beauty salon and a vintage and second-hand store operated by WornWell. 

Today I opened the new Penneys store in Dundrum Town Centre.

A good day for our local community & economy! pic.twitter.com/rmcLwDOTK9

— Neale Richmond (@nealerichmond) June 22, 2023

Penneys previously operated a smaller retail space in Dundrum but has moved to a much larger location that became available after UK retail giant House of Fraser pulled out of the mall in 2020. 

The new Penneys store will employ a total of 360 employees, with 230 employees moving from the old Dundrum location to the new 60,000 sq ft retail space. 

The new space will offer 64% more shopping space than the previous Dundrum store and becomes the third largest Penneys in Ireland. 

The €16 million investment is part of Penneys' commitment to investing €250 million in Ireland over the next ten years. 

Damien O’Neill, head of Penneys Ireland and Northern Ireland, said in a statement that the new store looked "incredible."

"I’m so delighted to welcome our valued colleagues and customers into our long-awaited bigger and better store in Dundrum.

"This has been a significant project for our property and retail teams, and the finished result looks incredible." 

Richmond, meanwhile, described Penneys as a "true Irish success story."

"As the people’s retailer, Penneys committed last summer to help ease the cost-of-living crisis by continuing its commitment to sustainable affordable clothing and protecting prices on hundreds of essential children's items," Richmond said on Thursday. 

The opening of the Penneys in Dundrum on Friday comes as part of "a significant week of expansion" for Primark’s international footprint as it opens four new stores in three days across Europe and the US.

Earlier this week Primark opened its second store in Bucharest, Romani, while on Friday, the retailer also opened its first store in Lanzarote, Spain (58th in the Spanish market) and a new store in Long Island, New York, its 18th store in the US.

On Friday Primark will open its newly extended store in Liverpool, UK. This will bring the total number of Primark stores globally to 425.