FAITHFUL Seagulls supporters flocked to a shopping centre yesterday morning for the opening of a new store.

An Albion club shop opened its doors in Brighton’s Churchill Square shopping centre at 9am and treated the first 50 customers to a “goodie bag of gifts”.

Fans Amy Baker, 29, and Richard Hanekom, 24, were some of the first to visit the shop, which is opposite Ernest Jones jewellers.

Richard said: “We are both club members and go to all the games at the Amex, but this store seems to have some things that the Falmer store doesn’t.

“I think it’s really good publicity for the club to have a store in the city centre.”

He added that it would be a boon for the family and friends of fans searching for the perfect Christmas gift.

The club announced the news yesterday. A club spokesman said: “A full range of Nike kit, leisurewear, ’47 headwear, gifts and accessories will be available, plus the added bonus of shirt printing and personalisation in store.”

Amy said: “I didn’t find out about it until today. But the news that a store is opening has been exploding on Facebook.

“Everyone has been sharing it and tagging their friends and family.”

The club revealed its reasons for opening the shop.

Albion’s senior marketing manager Anna Easthope said: “We wanted more of a presence in the city centre ahead of this Christmas and felt this was the perfect location and a great opportunity for the festive period.

“The store has a really good range of our most popular items, including our home and away strips, and we are confident it will prove a popular addition with fans.”

The store has already proved popular with fans with a constant stream of visitors on its opening day.

Senior retail operations manager Claire Britton said: “We have had a great start already with a huge amount of interest on the opening day and some brilliant feedback from supporters.

“We have a player signing session planned for half-term, and we expect the store to be very busy right through until Christmas.”

The signing is currently planned for October 29, although the club is currently keeping the players who will be attending as a surprise.

The shop is on the groundfloor level of the shopping centre, near to JD Sports which announced in August it would be the club’s shirt sleeve sponsor for the third consecutive season.

It will be open from 9am on weekdays and Saturdays.

The shop will close at 6pm from Monday to Wednesday, staying open until late on Thursdays (8pm) as well as Fridays and Saturdays (7pm). On Sundays it will open from 11am until 5pm. The store will have extended opening times throughout the Christmas period.