Store Manager, Georgina Booth, with members of St Andrew’s football club
By Elizabeth Lee
After much anticipation, the new Lidl shop on the Royal Oak Road, Bagenalstown threw open its doors to its first cusomters, today, Thursday. The €6 million development has created 35 jobs in the locality as well as having supported a further 75 construction jobs throughout the development phase.
As Lidl is Ireland’s leading supporter of female participation in sport through its partnership with the Ladies Gaelic Football Association, it was only fitting that members of St Andrew’s LGFA club did the honours of officially opening the store this morning.
Following the celebratory ribbon cut, St Andrew’s club members, Leona Lee, Chloe Beck, Georgie Byrne, Sinead McCullagh, Sara Clarke, Leanne Carroll, Rachel McCullagh and Rebecca Kelly were presented with a set of new kits for their team, sponsored by Lidl.
Alongside Lidl’s new bright and airy 1,017sqm store, with a spacious interior layout, high ceilings and wide aisles creating a comfortable shopping experience for customers, the development also includes an onsite café which provides a nice new nook for post-shopping catch ups over coffee.
Lidl’s leadership in the sustainable building field continues with the store using only renewable electricity as part of its 50001 ISO certified energy management system, providing free EV charging points to customers and the installation of solar panels.
Through its partnership with FoodCloud, Lidl has donated more than 30,000 meals to local Carlow charities and community groups, helping to alleviate food poverty. Furthering its community-focused objectives under its “A Better Tomorrow” corporate social responsibility programme, and to mark the opening this morning, Lidl Bagenalstown welcomed representatives from local charity, Bagenalstown Family Resource Centre to accept a donation of €500 to support the ongoing services they provide for both families and individuals in the community of Bagenalstown and the surrounding areas of South Carlow, from counselling to running clubs.
Commending the Bagenalstown community for their support, Lidl Bagenalstown Store Manager, Georgina Booth, said; “We’ve been warmly welcomed by the local community here in Bagenalstown and have already met so many lovely new customers. After months of preparation, we are excited to settle into the community over the coming weeks and to help our new customers make some real savings on their weekly shop.”
