'Where clothes go to die' - Plans unveiled for new Penneys store dubbed 'the worst' in Ireland

A Penneys store in the Midlands that went viral this week is once again the subject of a planning application to double in size.

For the third time in five years, Penneys in Laois Shopping Centre, Portlaoise, is going to the planners in Laois County Council, asking permission to expand. There was great excitement among Laois customers when the store got approval in 2020, but no development happened.

This time rather than the shopping centre owners Lindat Ltd, it is Primark Ltd doing the asking.

The international business has also altered the plan, taking in a different retail unit and opening up onto the outside of the centre.

The store would go from being 1,454 square metres to 2,874 square metres in size.

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A video of the store went viral this week after tiktok user @ava_cee posted the 20 second clip of some of the "basic" and "terrible" clothes and shoes inside.

@ava_cee Replying to @MiddleAgeWomanTinkeringAbout you asked you shall receive They even had shoes today #fyp #penneys ♬ O Fortuna - Epic Trailer Version - Hidden Citizens

Hundreds of people rushed to the comment section to agree with the video with some dubbing the store "the worst in Ireland" and another saying "this is where clothes go to die".

Another comment from someone said they had worked in Penneys a number of years ago and all their unsold stock would be sent to the Portlaoise store.

Primark Limited in Unit 98, is applying for permission to carry out internal alterations at mall level on the upper ground floor to amalgamate with the vacant shop unit 132 of 1,379 sqm, that faces out onto the front of the shopping centre at James Fintan Lalor Avenue.

They say this will result in an additional 39 square metres retail area and a total Penneys retail floor area of 2,874 square metres.

They plan to remove the existing wall between both units, alter the existing goods-in service area, block up two existing external doors, form three new external doors and alter another door to make a new fire escape.

They also want to add a new plant enclosure in the existing service area and install new plant and equipment.