It has been a long wait for the residents of Goonellabah to find out what business or businesses are going to replace the old Target Country store that was closed on January 30 this year. As the sign says, "Something special is happening."

The Lismore App can finally reveal that The Reject Shop and Rivers will be opening their doors towards the end of 2021.

A trusted source has said the Reject Shop will be a superstore which means it will stock Tesco products. Tesco is the giant UK supermarket retailer that has been operating since 1924 and is in thirteen countries around the world.

In September 2020 The Reject Shop completed a deal with Tesco allowing it to sell its cheap home brand items like tea, coffee, pasta, rice, cooking oils and loads more. This move has put The Reject Shop in a battle with Aldi, Kmart and Big W for cheap grocery items plus cheap everyday items like storage containers, cleaning products, toiletries and kitchen and dining products.

COO Dani Aquilina has said, "'What we do specifically that's different is we make sure we find the best-selling products, we buy them in big volumes so we can get the best prices and then we pass those savings on to our customers."

This can only be a good thing for the residents of Goonellabah.

Of course, there is a Reject Shop in Lismore Central in the CBD but supposedly not a superstore. There will be more information on this when The Reject Shop answers the questions we have put to them two weeks ago.

Speaking of Lismore Central, Rivers was part of the community for a long time. Many of you would be aware it was situated where Stepz Fitness is underneath the escalators but failed to re-open following the 2017 floods.

Well, it appears the Village Goonellabah appeals to the current owners Mosaic Brands (Noni B, Millers, Rockmans) because it is out of flood.

Out of the two stores, Rivers will have the larger space which is about 1200m2 according to our source, so we can look forward to a large range of apparel. Rivers online items include big brands such as including Tommy Hilfiger, Ugg, Levi's and Adidas as well as the traditional River's range.

The exact opening dates for the two businesses are not yet known but is believed to be October or November, just time for Christmas.

The Lismore App is waiting on a reply to inform you of how many jobs this will mean to our community but for now, get the resumes in order.