John Lewis has announced it will open a new call centre in Manchester, creating up to 350 jobs in the North West.
The 40,000 sq ft call centre is expected to help the department store chain meet the growing demand from its online shopping operations.
A source told the Manchester Evening News: “The city centre makes enormous sense to a call centre operator, because it has all the facilities it needs.”
John Lewis already has a 220,000 sq ft store at The Trafford Centre, in Manchester, while the retailer also runs two other stores in Liverpool and Cheadle.
According to the North West Universities Association (NWUA), around 5% of the total employment in the North West is within call centres.
It is one of the UK’s main call centre regions in terms of financial services, with call centres established by leading businesses including Aviva, Barclays, Co-operative Bank, MBNA Europe Bank, Halifax Financial Services and NatWest, NWUA added.
Call centres are well represented in Cheshire and Warrington, and Merseyside, while the largest call centre stock is in Greater Manchester.
Copyright © Press Association 2009
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