Men's clothing chain Lowes opens second store for the border at Wodonga Plaza

The store opened this month, opposite Plaza Cards & Tattslotto.

The opening comes after a surge in customers for the business, the majority travelling "from out of town" to the Albury store, which has been in its Olive Street location for 25 years.

Wodonga Plaza centre manager Sarah Styles said it was great to see stores such as Lowes booming.

"Following COVID-19, it all slowed down, no one wanted to open businesses, but in the past 12 months it's improved," she said.

"It's incredible seeing big brands pop up in the Plaza and having these brands here means people don't have to travel across to Albury or the bigger cities anymore.

"Other than Target, there isn't much menswear in Wodonga, but Lowes has such a great range.

"We're super chuffed with the results we've seen so far."

Ms Styles said it helped that the employees were all so "positive and passionate about their jobs".

Assistant manager Jodie Franks, who has been with the company for about two years, said moving the store to Wodonga "happened so quickly".

"We have a lot of customers from Wodonga and out of town, in Wangaratta and Chiltern that come to our Albury store. We weighed it up that Wodonga needed a store too," she said.

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She said many people had been popping in to check out the range and welcome them to the Plaza.

"It's been great so far and really positive," she said.

"We thought it was a call to bring the store over and offer a variety of clothing to suit everyone.

"We have plenty of men's sizes right up to 11XL and a lot of Unisex clothing too, as well as an Indigenous range and work wear.

"It's wonderful to see people out and about shopping and spending money. Everyone is happy we're here."

Ms Styles said the foot traffic had exceeded expectations.

"We can see strong trade gives confidence to companies, especially when it's consistent," she said.

"The owners could see it was worth the investment, and it's been a massive win. The shop has outdone itself with the presentation, and although the Albury store is great, it's nice to see a fresh store and an iconic brand make its way to Wodonga."

Ms Franks said the team were working across both stores and had even hired additional staff.

"We've had nothing but positive feedback," she said.

"People keep saying, 'it's about time the store came over here', and we hold that in high regard."

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