ARGOS is opening a store at Totton in a move that will create 40 jobs and give the town centre a major boost.

Businesses battling competition from the WestQuay complex in Southampton are delighted that one of Britain's biggest retailers is investing in the town.

The Argos store is due to open at Totton Retail Park, Commercial Road, at the end of July. Traders say the scheme will encourage more people to shop in Totton, often used as nothing more than a through route to stores in Southampton.

An Argos spokesman said: "We already have more than 530 branches which employ 23,000 people and enjoy sales of more than three billion a year.

"We aim to open another 35 stores over the next 12 months and Totton is one of the areas that we want to expand into."

Totton traders have seen a dramatic drop in business since the opening of WestQuay increased the pulling power of rival retail attractions in Southampton.

However, shopkeepers in the town can expect to receive vital spin-off trade once the Argos store opens.

The scheme does not need planning permission, but was discussed at a meeting of Totton and Eling Town Council's planning and transport committee.

Committee chairman Frank Bright said: "It will serve a local need and will also help keep people in the town."

Councillor Steve Shepherd, a Totton town centre trader and a former chairman of Totton Chamber of Trade, agreed.

He said: "A viable town centre requires a range of shops that are popular. Towns need to provide a mix of businesses that include an alternative to some of the more old-fashioned stores. Argos is an upbeat company that offers a modern way of shopping. Hopefully its Totton store will attract more people from a wider area."

Totton is still smarting from a council report five years ago which claimed its shopping centre was the worst in Hampshire. Earlier this year the authority approved a multi-million-pound plan to transform the area.