99p Stores plans South East expansion
Discount chain 99p Stores is actively looking for suitable properties in the South East as part of expansion plans for both the 99p Store concept and the new Family Bargains spin-off.
The company is to officially open its latest Family Bargains store today in Eastbourne, and commercial director Hussein Lalani told Insider that the search for more sites was ongoing – with retail park sites sought for Family Bargains and high street or town centre sites needed for 99p Stores.
There are now 130 of the 99p Stores shops and seven Family Bargains outlets and the company plans to open five or six more this year, at least two being in the South East. Lalani would not name the locations as deals were still being agreed.
For the future, he said “any major town” in the South East was of interest and several specific towns are on the company's “hit list”. He said the company was already “sifting through” numerous commercial property options to assess their suitability.
He revealed that a shift in consumer attitudes towards bargain shopping had made the South East increasingly attractive, with an increasing number of AB consumers among those now shopping at discount stores. “There has never been any issue with consumer acceptance in the traditionally bargain-conscious, discount-savvy North, but it has taken the recession to tip attitudes in the South East. Consumer confidence is at an all-time low and people are actively seeking out bargains.”
The current availability of commercial property in the South East also presented an opportunity, said Lalani. “There is lots of space available at the moment. We're taking advantage of the weak market by getting good deals with landlords.”
The company launched Family Bargains in June as a spin-off from the successful 99p Stores. It sells products costing up to £49.99, including big name brands.
“We had a lot of resources we were under-utilising,” said Lalani. “Our distribution centre in Northampton has the capacity to cater for 250 stores but was serving only 130. We can source pretty much any product from the Far East, and we also had a lot of suppliers offering us products that couldn't go into the 99p price range.”
For the year to 31 January, 99p Stores delivered pre-tax profits of £1.79m and its sales grew by 63 per cent to £183.5m.
