H&M, the Swedish fast-fashion brand, has confirmed it will open its new branch at the restored Clerys Quarter on O’Connell Street in Dublin on Friday.

The 30,000 sqft store will be its second-largest in the capital, behind the outlet at Liffey Valley in west Dublin. The chain is promising self-service checkouts and click-and-collect hub lockers at the new outlet, which will sell clothes and accessories.

The opening finally marks the re-start of retailing at the iconic Clerys building, where refurbishment finished last June after five years of works. At the time a spokesperson said the retail fit-out phase was underway and the development remained on track to open before Christmas.

Since then the developers have taken a case to the High Court against Heatons Ltd, trading as Flannels, over the alleged wrongful termination of a lease.

H&M, which will be trading from the ground and first floors of Clerys, shut its outlet on South King Street in Dublin last summer. It had been occupying 18,000 square feet in a complex beside the Gaiety Theatre.

The Swedish chain says its latest opening shows the fashion brand’s confidence in the Irish market. “We are delighted to be opening our doors in the newly restored iconic Clerys Quarter, helping to bring a new lease of life to a much-loved building,” said Klas Degeryd, head of expansion at H&M UK & Ireland.

It will soon be joined by Decathlon, the sports clothing specialist with headquarters in France. It is reportedly planning to open a 30,000 sqft store next summer after the withdrawal of Flannels.

The building has 90,000 sqft of office space, and will also contain a 213-bed four-star hotel. Pret A Manger has already opened an outlet and Rolled has leased a 400 sqft ground-floor unit to sell on-the-go sushi.

Part of the building was sold last year to the HSE, which will use it as an outpatient facility for the nearby Rotunda Hospital.

Clerys was bought by Natrium for about €29m in 2015. The consortium abruptly closed the 170-year-old department store, with the loss of a total of 460 jobs, including 130 direct employees.

The State had to step in to contribute to their statutory redundancy payments.

The store lay empty for three years until Natrium sold it in October 2018 for €63m to Europa Capital, a division of the Rockefeller Group, and two local partners – Derek McGrath’s Core Capital and Paddy McKillen Jr’s Oakmount.

Reporting On:independent.ie