With the new Stratford City shopping centre opening in just under 3 months, there is an increasing demand for sales assistants in Stratford. There is an urgent need to find thousands of sales assistants to come and work in the 250 shops which are just about to open but with the help of the local Retail Academy and agencies, the process is under way.

While some independent boutiques might only be looking for a few members of staff, the big anchor shops such as John Lewis, Waitrose and Marks & Spencer will be taking on hundreds of new employees. John Lewis has already started to recruit and the new store will create 750 new jobs in Stratford. Some of these jobs will even be reserved for local unemployed people to ensure that the local community in Stratford can benefit from the new giant mall.

At the moment, the new shopping centre is busy with builders, shop fitters, electricians and decorators, all working hard to make sure everything will be ready for the Grand Opening on 13 September.

Very soon, they will be replaced by store managers, assistant managers and sales assistants. Most of the jobs created will be in fashion. The list of new fashion stores ready to open is impressive:
Next
H&M
Primark
New Look
Gap
Monsoon
Hugo Boss
Hobbs
Reiss
River Island
Esprit
Topshop
Superdry
Forever 21
Fashion Rocks (including Vivienne Westwood collection and Armani Jeans)
Hollister
Uniqlo
TM Lewin
The Sting
Adidas
Zara
Pull and Bear
Bershka
Quiz
Dorothy Perkins
Phase eight
Republic

Then we also need to add: Ann Summers and La Senza.
For jewellery, there will be: Swarovski, Swatch, Claire’s Accessories, Ernest Jones, Fraser Hart, H Samuel and Pandora
For sports clothing, equipment and shoes: Nike, Lacoste, Timberland
For shoes and accessories: Aldo, Barratts and Crocs
For health and Beauty: Toni & Guy Hairdressing, The Perfume Shop, Boots, Holland & Barrett, the Body Shop, Beauty Base, Sunna Musk, Kiko, dermalogica and Lush
Mobile Phones: Orange Mobile, Phones 4 U, T Mobile
Lifestyle, entertainment and around the home: Apple store, Lakeland, Jessops, Paperchase, WH Smiths, The Entertainer
For mums: Mothercare and children fashion: Bebe Bisou (including clothing and shoes from Gucci, baby Dior, Ralph Lauren, D&G, Fendi, Guess, Gaultier Jumior, Lili Gauferett and Baby Graziella)
And finally, the three big anchor stores (largest stores within the shopping centre): John Lewis (240,000 sq ft ), Marks & Spencer (200,000 sq ft) and Waitrose (32,000 sq ft).

This list helps to understand why there will be so much demand for sales assistant at Westfield Stratford. This really is a giant shopping centre dedicated to fashion and beauty. And to top it all, there will be plenty of new restaurants, bars, cafés, a Vue Cinema, a new casino, a bowling alley and a market place.

Now, we can really get the sense of how the 1.9 million sq ft. (180,000 m2) of Stratford City have been allocated.