A NEW store in Wrexham town centre where more than 750 people clamoured for jobs will open for business this morning.

The desperate job hunters were fighting for just 20 positions at the QD outlet housed in the former Marks and Spencer’s in Hope Street – which gave them only a one in 35 chance of success.

The Norfolk-based company said it was ‘overwhelmed’ by the number of people going after full and part-time positions who queued around the block outside the Wynnstay Arms where interviews were held over two days last month.

Declaring the store open will be one of the first official duties to be performed by Wrexham’s newly-installed mayor, Cllr Jim Kelly.

With a trading floor of 19,000 square feet, it will stock homeware, fashion for all the family and DIY essentials, along with basic food items such as coffee, tea and sugar.

QD says it is opening the new store as part of its continuing expansion programme.

The company has moved in following a major refurbishment of the premises, vacated by M&S late in 2008 when it moved to Eagles Meadow.

QD marketing operations manager Alan Hatcher said: “The entire team is now geared up and ready to go.

“By attracting more shoppers into Wrexham this store will have a very positive effect on town centre trade.

“Last month we were overwhelmed by the sheer number of applicants and the high calibre of the applicants.

“We have seen similar scenes at the recruitments days at other stores including Boston in Lincolnshire and Wellingborough in Northamptonshire.”

A recent finalist in the Oracle Retail Week Awards for 2010, QD, which also owns the Cherry Lane chain of garden centres in Norfolk, Suffolk and Yorkshire, was selected by a panel of industry experts as Emerging Retailer of the Year.

Ten new high street stores have been opened by the group over the past 12 months and more are planned this year, with a view to increasing the number of outlets to 50 across the UK.