'Bigger and better' JD Sports branch opening in Mansfield's Four Seasons

The sportswear shop, which has been in Mansfield's Four Seasons for more than a decade next to WHSmith and near the library, will close its doors for the final time today as the firm prepares to launch its bigger and better branch at 9am tomorrow..

The new branch will be located next door to HMV and directly across from the indoor entrance to Primark, creating three permanent jobs and a number of seasonal Christmas temp roles.

It is believed that the new location, which has a fresh interior design and a much larger floor space, will bring in "significantly more" customers because of its central location in the shopping centre.

This has been welcomed by branch manager Kieran Towlson, 27, who has been calling for a bigger branch for a while.

He said: “We have been asking for a bigger store for a while, and now we have much more scope to sell a wider range of items.

"The new store has much more space and a massive store room compared to our older store so it will be a lot less cramped both for us and for the customers.

"I think the issue with the old store was that it was very narrow and we often had customers commenting this to us - this is why we have been asking for the new store.

"It's a really exciting time for us because the old store has been doing well and we have a good team working with us, and when head office saw that this was available it made sense for us to upgrade.

"Setting up the new shop has been stressful and we've had our set backs but I'm excited for the official launch tomorrow.

"It will be sad moving away from that branch, I've been there for a few years myself and it has been JD's home in Mansfield for a very long time.

"However the future is bright for the company because our new location is amazing, and it is exactly where we need to be to get more customers.

"At the old branch we were quite secluded and people may not have know we were there, that will all change now that we are in the centre."

Staff at the old store will transfer to the new store when it closes today.