Stax Trade Centres has opened its first Glasgow branch, creating 81 jobs and predicting 100 more new posts within the next 12 months.

Stax has invested £5 million into the 80,000 sq ft store, which is situated on a former distribution site on Easter Queenslie Road Industrial Estate, just three miles from the city centre.

More than 350 local residents applied to fill the new positions at the wholesale supplier’s second Scottish store on the day the opening was announced.

The Glasgow branch is Stax’s first design-led, dual purpose store, and will act as both a cash and carry and distribution centre to fulfil customers’ deliveries. Working in tandem with the company’s existing Edinburgh offering, the opening will allow the business to cater for the whole of the Scottish market, the company says.

David Hibbert, joint managing director at Stax Trade Centres, said: “We’re delighted to welcome our new Glasgow workforce onboard and look forward to growing the team over the coming months. We take pride in our people and employ for the long-term – almost half of our staff across the UK have been with us for more than 10 years.”

“It’s very exciting to be launching our first site in Glasgow and we’re eager to open the doors to our new customers. I’ve no doubt that the significant investment we’ve made to the area will be demonstrated in the breadth of products available to trade customers and the quality of service provided.”

Stax has been supplying the trade for more than 30 years with products covering electrical, plumbing, bathroom, kitchen, decorating, tools, housewares and gardening.