Furniture, leisure and homeware chain The Range is pressing ahead with expansion plans with six more stores due to open before the year is out.

The openings, three of which will be next month, follow the five already rolled out by the retailer in 2011.

The new stores will be in Rotherham, Barnsley, Broadstairs, Burton upon Trent, Kings Lynn and Aldershot, taking The Range portfolio to 59.

The Range chief executive Chris Dawson said: “It’s great to be able to create jobs in the retail industry, opening a new store is a great boost for a local economy, particularly in these tough times.

“It’s a very exciting time for the company, we’ve just opened our 53rd store and have at least six more planned store openings for 2011, with many more in the pipeline for this year and next.”