Sainsbury’s has opened its 1,000th store in Irvine, Ayrshire.

Sainsbury’s opened its first store in Drury Lane in 1869 and the retailer now has 576 supermarkets and 424 convenience stores across the UK, serving 22 million customers each week and employing around 150,000 staff.

The company’s 1,000th store is a 60,000sqft supermarket that is the 59th Sainsbury’s store in Scotland, creating 248 new jobs in the process.

Sainsbury’s chief executive Justin King said: “Opening our 1,000th store is a huge milestone for us and shows our determination to continue to invest and create jobs in the UK. I am delighted that our colleagues can share in the success of this achievement through doubling their discount this coming weekend.

“Our new Irvine store showcases the best that Sainsbury’s has to offer with its emphasis on fresh, great quality food and its extensive non-food offer of TU clothing, entertainment ranges and homeware.”

Sainsbury’s aims to create more than 6,000 new jobs each year to 2020 creating 50,000 jobs in total.