SHOPPERS in Newport will have a new store in April. International fashion chain H&M is moving into the city centre.

The company will occupy the former C&A building at 161-163 Commercial Street and hopes to open its new store in April.

H&M will be bringing its ladies' wear, young wear and children's wear ranges to Newport. It will also be selling cosmetics but has no plans for men's wear at present.

Newport will be H&M's 845th store worldwide and it will add to the 500 million items of clothing and cosmetics the company sells each year.

Reaction in the city has been extremely positive. Councillor John Jenkins said: "I was disappointed when C&A closed and the city has certainly felt the loss.

"But this news more than makes up for it and represents the kind of business we are actively seeking to attract to the city centre.

"We need more businesses like this one but in the meantime I would like to wish H&M a long and successful future here."

Jon Hughes of Newport & Gwent Enterprise said: "The Commercial Street site has been an eyesore for some time and it will give everybody a boost to see it filled.

"H&M has a good quality reputation in the retail sector and it's exactly what we need to combat retail parks and maintain the development of Newport as a vibrant city centre. "Our small and medium-sized clients in the city can only benefit from the arrival of a big name like this."

Founded in Sweden in 1947, H&M employs 80 designers and 100 buyers who work together to create the company's clothing collections.

The news of the new shop comes after the Argus revealed yesterday that one of the key findings of a new survey of 1,000 people in Newport is a call for better shopping facilities. The survey, commissioned by the city council for the Wales Programme for Improvement - the system used to measure the performance of the council's services - asked for view on the council's improvement priorities and the quality of life in Newport.