Posted: Friday, December 2, 2011 11:50 am

Sainsbury's 1,000th store opened this week in Irvine, Ayrshire.

From Sainsbury's first store in Drury Lane, opened in 1869, the retailer now has 576 supermarkets and 424 convenience stores across the UK, serving 22 million customers each week and employing around 150,000 colleagues.

The company's 1,000th store is a 60,000 sq ft supermarket that is the 59th Sainsbury's store in Scotland. It has created 248 new jobs for local people, 47 of whom were previously unemployed.

In recognition of this outstanding achievement and of the hard work of Sainsbury's colleagues, the retailer is doubling colleague discount from 10% to 20% between 1st and 4th December.

Justin King, Sainsbury's Chief Executive, said: "Opening our 1,000th store is a huge milestone for us and shows our determination to continue to invest and create jobs in the UK. I am delighted that our colleagues can share in the success of this achievement through doubling their discount this coming weekend. Our new Irvine store showcases the best that Sainsbury's has to offer with its emphasis on fresh, great quality food and its extensive non-food offer of TU clothing, entertainment ranges and homeware.

"Through our investment we expect to create over 6,000 new job opportunities every year to 2020 - that's 50,000 jobs in total. Many of these colleagues will go on to have long careers in Sainsbury's, benefiting from the diverse career opportunities and first-class training Sainsbury's can offer."