Popular makeup brand MAC cosmetics is to open its first standalone store in Northern Ireland at Belfast's Victoria Square.

The impending addition comes as two new stores - Nespresso and VANS - opened within days of each other at the shopping complex, which is home to the beleaguered House of Fraser.

There are currently two MAC concessions in Northern Ireland, one in Debenhams at CastleCourt while the other is based at Belfast International Airport.

Used by many professional make-up artists, MAC over the years has gained prominence with its collabaorations with celebrities including US singer Ariana Grande.

While MAC is yet to officially comment on the store, Debenhams was tight-lipped when asked if the brand was exiting from its Belfast store with a spokesperson saying: "MAC has been stocked at Debenhams for over 10 years and is a very popular brand within our beauty halls."

Meanwhile, Nespresso coffee launched its first boutique in Northern Ireland on Thursday afternoon - creating 15 new jobs at Victoria Square.

The company's UK managing director, Francisco Nogueira, said: "Our retail expansion continues to be a priority and one of our aims is to ensure all our customers can access one of our boutiques within 45 minutes.

"We are excited to launch our first boutique in Northern Ireland and bring the Nespresso experience closer to more customers in Belfast."

Joining the latest names opening at Victoria Square, American footwear brand VANS also opened a store in the centre last week.

While the brand is sold via concessions throughout other retailers in the city, the shop on the upper ground floor of Victoria Square is the first standalone store in Northern Ireland.

Glynn Roberts, chief executive officer at Retail NI, hailed the arrival of three new stores in the city, stressing that he hoped it is a sign of more positive developments to come.

"I think this is welcome news and I am pleased for Victoria Square in acquiring three new traders," he said.

"I'm pleased for the city centre as a whole, after so much bad news lately with the Primark fire and other retailers closing down.

"But given the progress that has been made on the high street with Primark relocating, with Matalan going to CastleCourt and so on, the city centre will continue to go from strength to strength."

Addressing whether or not the new standalone stores could negatively impact on department stores which house their concessions, Mr Roberts stressed it was too early to say. "But clearly the city centre is moving onwards and upwards and I am optimistic despite recent events that the city will go from strength to strength," he said.

Belfast Telegraph