A “BIGGER and brighter” Carphone Warehouse store complete with its own “geek squad” will open in Basildon on Friday.

The Carphone Warehouse, in Town Square, will be closing for good on Thursday. But it will re-open the next day at its new home in the Eastgate Centre.

Four new jobs have been created as a result of the move. All 11 existing staff will be relocating to the new branch, on the lower level near to Debenhams.

Azim Ghani, branch manager, said: “We are really excited about the move.

“This is going to be something special for us and our shoppers.

“The store is going to be different in the sense it will be bigger, brighter and more exciting.

“In addition to phones, we will be selling laptops, iPads, and everything to do with communication.

“We will also have a geek squad who will work from their own designated geek precinct inside the branch.

“These are agents who are what their name suggests, geeks who can tell a customer everything they need to know, including how to hook their phone up to their laptop, or their computer to their stereo.”

Carphone Warehouse is not the only chain to abandon the town centre in favour of the Eastgate. Top Shop and Burger King both made the move earlier this year.

Mr Ghani, who has worked at the Town Square store for eight years, said: “Even since I’ve started here I’ve seen it change, and not for the better, sadly.

“Once Curry’s shut last year, a lot of pound and discount shops moved in. It’s not the same. The town centre does need a bit of a boost with some bigger names coming in.”

Despite many retailers feeling the pinch, Mr Ghani said the technology sector was holding its own.

He added: “The new iPhone 4s is seriously popular in Basildon. We are selling them as fast as we can get them in.”