AROUND 30 new jobs are being created in Southampton with the opening of a new 99p discount shop tomorrow.

The new 99p Stores in Bitterne will open in the old Woolworths building at 9am and is the latest in Hampshire this year after shops successfully opened in Shirley and Lymington.

The chain’s commercial director Hussein Lalani said the popularity of the stores show people in Hampshire know a bargain when they see one.

“Because of the popularity of the Hampshire stores and from research we are now opening up again in the county,” he said.

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“More than 35 per cent of our customers are professionals – we are connecting to all sectors of society.”

The new Bitterne Road store will have around 4,000 different 99p items extending from cosmetics to catering, gardening, gifts, food and even bagged pick ‘n’ mix.

Mr Lalani said the 99p Stores were filling a gap in the market that Woolworths left behind when it closed its stores.

“In a way we are offering the public what Woolworths failed to do for so many years and that is to give great value products.

“Woolworths started out as a six pence shop with everything at one price. We are the 21st century version of this.

“We feel proud to take over the mantle and consider ourselves custodians of the Woolworths’ brand.

“When Woolworths was set up it connected with the British public and we believe we are now doing this.”

It will be the 104th 99p Stores shop in the UK and the firm say they plan to have 200.