Danish home retail brand Jysk is to create more than 70 new jobs with the opening of seven new Irish stores during the first half of the year.
The retailer opened its first five Irish stores last year. The next stores will open in Waterford on February 27th and in Limerick on March 26th.
Jysk is also targeting store openings in Sligo, Carlow and Dublin, as well as two stores in Cork city during the summer.
Jysk said last year that it would open 15 stores across Ireland. However, the Danish retailer has now said it hopes to open 40 stores over the next three to five years, with forecast turnover of €70 million, creating hundreds of new jobs.
Jysk Ireland country manager Roni Tuominen said: "The appetite for Jysk in Ireland continues to grow, and we continue to receive a warm welcome and a great response to our offering.
“Our goal is to establish new Jysk locations in towns and cities all over Ireland, so we can contribute to the local economy, especially in smaller communities where our job creation will be extremely valuable.”
Founded in Denmark in 1979 by Lars Larsen, Jysk has expanded to 51 countries with more than 2,700 stores worldwide employing 23,000 people.
