MARTIN Walsh is the proud manager of the "jewel in the crown" of Craigavon.
The new centre manager of Rushmere said he was delighted to take over at the helm.
Mr Walsh, who was born in Ballymena, but now lives in Dungannon, has been working in the retail sector since 1987.
The father of two started out on the retail ro
ad with Dunnes Stores and spent 18 years with the outfit based in stores in both the north and south of Ireland.
He also spent two years as general manager of England and Scotland with Dunnes.
His next post was with Woodies DIY as executive area manager.
Up until the move to Rushmere Mr Walsh was based in the Marks and Spencer flagship store in Donegall Place in Belfast as commercial and operations manager.
He said he was attracted to Rushmere by “the scale of the centre and the offer that’s here”.
He was drawn by Rushmere’s “standing as a prime retail destination in Mid Ulster.”
“It provides me with the opportunity to work with some of the biggest names in retail,” he continued.
“I’m really looking forward to that challenge.”
Mr Walsh said he was familiar with the argument that Rushmere was taking shoppers away from market towns of Lurgan and Portadown.
He added however he was not yet versed enough about local economics to make a comment.
When asked if he thought it was possible for chain stores and independent retailers to survive side-by-side in today’s market place he replied: “One offer should compliment the other.”
He described Rushmere as “a real jewel in the crown for the local area”.
He said he was impressed by the centre’s superb shopping facilities. Mr Walsh added the success of Rushmere was a credit to customer potential in the Craigavon area.
“I hope to be here for some years to come,” he said.
The full article contains 324 words and appears in Lurgan Mail newspaper.
