NEW jobs will be created in Tavistock with a £1-million revamp of the town?s Somerfield store which began this week. The refurbishment is part of a nationwide investment by the company of £155-million and will increase the 75-strong workforce by at least ten. Changes will include a 50% bigger bakery, extended fresh produce section, a new deli and rotisserie, news and magazines, freshly ground coffee and a home entertainment department. Store opening hours will be extended by an hour to 9pm in the evenings and four new checkouts will be fitted, whereby busy shoppers can scan and pay for their own purchases. Manager Alan Feakins said the refit was very welcome: ?The store is starting to look a bit old now as the last refurbishment took place in 1998. ?It is also good news for the traders of Tavistock because it keeps footfall in the high street. ?We have managed to compete with the out of town supermarkets and are looking to significantly increase our turnover on this type of investment.? The new store, which relaunches on July 13, will also include a department dedicated to retailer Tchibo, which is the only company to change its products every week, ranging from lingerie to kitchen goods. Mr Feakins said Somerfield would be open throughout most of the refurbishment and much of the work would take place outside trading hours. ?We aim to keep disruption to a minimum, only shutting the shop on quieter days,? he said. These will be June 12-13, 19-21 and 26 for major interior work to take place. ?We apologise for any inconvenience but are confident that our customers will be delighted with the improvements.? Chairman of Tavistock Chamber of Commerce David Scrivener said it was a really positive step because it showed a wish to stay in the town by Somerfield: ?They obviously want to continue trading in Tavistock for the long-term and to continue building with us. ?I very much welcome this investment and the jobs for local people which it will create.I wish them all the best.? Somerfield has more than 700 stores and aims to refurbish over 100 of them in the next 12 months.
