Management at a discount store chain which launched during the pandemic say they are planning new shops and hundreds of jobs as lockdown eases.
MaxiSaver has opened eight stores across the Midlands since last August, and wants to open another 20 this year in an area stretching from Bedford in the south to Sheffield in the north.
The business sells 6,000 鈥渧alue for money鈥 products ranging in price from 29p to 拢59.99, in categories such as food and drink, household, cleaning, pet, garden, stationery, leisure, health and beauty.
It opened its first store in Hinckley鈥檚 Britannia Centre and has grown rapidly, creating around 100 jobs so far, with further openings in the run-up to Christmas.
The retailer is looking for new sales spaces of between 2,500 sq ft and 6,000 sq ft in towns and cities across central England, as well as out-of town-units covering up to 15,000 sq ft.
Managing director Paul Mathers, who has more than 25 years鈥 experience in the retail sector including senior positions at Poundstretcher, said he had felt there was a gap in the market for a convenience style retailer offering quality, branded goods at good prices.
He said: 鈥淎s soon as we opened our first store last August, it became an immediate hit which gave us the confidence to roll-out further stores and in every location.
鈥淲e鈥檝e now welcomed plenty of new customers, who love what we鈥檙e doing.
鈥淭he feedback we鈥檙e receiving is excellent and we are exploring every avenue to provide what our customers want which includes launching a click and collect service and transactional website which is in the process of being built.
鈥淲e are now expanding outside the Midlands and we鈥檙e currently searching for retail property that is close to both transport links and other retailers, which will give us good coverage on high streets and in city centres across a large part of England by the end of 2021.
鈥淚t has been a difficult time for some retail landlords, and we are keen to speak to them about what our stores can deliver.
鈥淓ach store will initially create 10 new jobs, so we will also be recruiting 200 people across our store network this year, as well as growing our head office team in line with our ongoing expansion strategy. Within two years our aim is to have most major towns in the country enjoying the benefits of MaxiSaver.
鈥淎lthough the Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in lots of people predicting the end for the British high street, there鈥檚 no doubt people are still keen to visit real shops. Consumers want convenience, vast product choice and value for money, which is what appeals about online shopping, and there鈥檚 no reason why we can鈥檛 offer these three fundamentals on the high street.鈥
As well as Hinckley, MaxiSaver has shops in Erdington, Stourbridge, Melton Mowbray, Chesterfield, Mansfield, Dudley and Newark.
