Around 200 jobs will be created in retail outlets in Cork and Kildare before December, it was announced today.
Up to 100 jobs will be created with the opening of a Mark & Spencer store in Douglas Village shopping centre in Cork. The store, which will open in November, will be the twenty-first Marks & Spencer store in the State.
The retailer already has a store in Cork city centre.
Separately, Kildare Village said it would create up to 100 jobs in the run-up to Christmas, with a mixture of permanent and temporary positions available.
The shopping centre said four new brands are planning to open at Kildare Village, which will create more than 60 positions. Some 40 per cent of these jobs will be full-time jobs.
An additional 45 positions will be created for temporary staff at existing retailers in the centre in the run-up to Christmas.
