New Waterford B&Q store had very famous visitor and surprise for locals on opening day

Customers at the new B&Q store in Waterford were greeted with a freebie and a very special guest last Thursday.

B&Q opened its brand-new store in Waterford in the second of three store openings across Ireland since 2008. The opening of the new store follows B&Q's acquisition of three previous Homebase stores earlier this year, to be opened throughout May.

The new B&Q Waterford store employs 37 colleagues including 16 colleagues who transferred from Homebase.

The 30,000 square foot B&Q store, located at Ardkeen Retail Park, the site of the previous Homebase store, has been remodelled and refreshed with B&Q branding and products. It will offer a wide range of home improvement essentials, along with a dedicated TradePoint counter tailored to meet the needs of local trade professionals.

Colleagues celebrated the opening today with live music from the Celtic Drummers, surprise and delight activities for its first customers including a free plant and gift card, a visit from the Dulux dog, and a ribbon cutting ceremony. The ribbon was cut by Yvonne Hale, who opened the former Homebase store 20 years ago.

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John Eason, B&Q Retail Director for Ireland & North UK, who attended the opening said: “It was another exciting opening today in Waterford, the second of three new B&Q stores to open across Ireland. I’m really proud of the efforts of all the teams involved in opening the new store which have been converted to the B&Q brand at a quick pace.

“It’s a great opportunity for us to bring our B&Q and TradePoint offer to more of our customers across Ireland. Store manager Gary Roche and his team are looking forward to welcoming customers into the store!”

B&Q Waterford opened on Thursday 29 May at Ardkeen Retail Park, Farronshoneen, Outer Ring Road, Waterford, X91 W1WD.