Exclusive: A first look at the new Colchester JD Sports before it opens tomorrow

The site, which has 7,009sq feet of retail space, is located at the former Argos unit in Tollgate Retail Park.

The unit has been empty since Argos vacated it back in 2022 after Sainsbury’s which owns the business, completed a review of its estate which included plans to close 60 to 70 standalone Argos stores.

Following its launch tomorrow, this will be the biggest JD Sports branch in the city, after the city centre location opened in October 2021,  in Lion Walk Shopping Centre.

New – JD Sports in Tollgate Retail Park (Image: Newsquest)

It has also created 27 new jobs in the area, and a special event will be held across this weekend to celebrate the opening.

JD Sports, which proclaims itself as the ‘King of Trainers’, is a sportswear and streetwear retailer that sells garments, footwear, football boots, sports accessories, and more.

The new branch, which is internally known as a concept store, has unique fittings and mannequins which aren’t used at the city centre location, has several different areas, including juniors, women’s, men’s, footwear, and accessories.

Across the different areas you’ll find a whole host of clothing options from popular brands like Nike, Addidas, Hoodrich,  The North Face,  Under Armour, Lacoste, Juicy Couture, Zavetti Canada, and more.

Area – the juniors section inside the store (Image: Newsquest) In the men’s section there were also a collection of football shirts.

The accessories corner features underwear, footballs, rucksacks, gloves, socks, amongst other items, and can be found in the back left corner of the store.

In the dedicated shoe wear area on the left-hand side of the JD Sports, there are many walls of trainers dedicated to kids, juniors, men, and women.

Alex Chilvers, 23, of Chelmsford is the store manager of the new JD Sports. He is excited about the launch.

Video music credit:  Midnight Fever, AI Music

Store team – (left to right) supervisors Caitlin Sullivan, Brogan Fedden, assistant manager Brandon Adams, and at the back store manager Alex Chilvers (Image: Newsquest) Alex said: “We’re excited to welcome consumers to our brand-new store at Tollgate Shopping Park this weekend.

“It’s a fantastic opportunity for us to connect with the local community and the perfect chance to explore our fresh mix of sportswear, fashion, and lifestyle brands as well as the exclusive products we have on offer.”

The business will be open Mondays to Fridays 9am to 8pm, Saturdays 9am to 7pm, and Sundays 10am to 4pm.

You can view more images of the store below.

JD Sports – a photo which shows some of the shoewear area (Image: Newsquest) JD Sports – the women’s section (Image: Newsquest) JD Sports – an image which shows some of the menswear area (Image: Newsquest) JD Sports – some of the shoes available for women (Image: Newsquest) JD Sports – the till area is found at the back of the store (Image: Newsquest) JD Sports – Juicy Couture in the women’s section (Image: Newsquest)

JD Sports – another part of the men’s area (Image: Newsquest) JD Sports – some of the trainer options in the men’s shoewear area (Image: Newsquest)