A US online retail company is to create 200 jobs in the west, with the expansion of its business in Galway.

Wayfair operates one of the world’s largest online furniture and homewares stores.

The company located its European headquarters in Galway city in 2009 and already employs more than 400 people there.

It cites the growth in the European homewares market as the reason behind today’s announcement.

As well as seeking new employees to work at its Galway offices, the firm is offering a number of positions for a “virtual workforce” – staff who will be based in towns and villages around the region and who will work remotely from their homes.

Wayfair says it will be seeking graduates across a range of disciplines, including finance, sales, customer service and supplier operations.

The announcement has been welcomed by the IDA, which says the investment highlights the different ways in which web-based companies can expand and diversify the manner in which they do business.