The Original Factory Shop in the News
Burnley-based discount store plans massive expansion
A DISCOUNT department store business is planning rapid growth in 2010 after record-breaking Christmas figures.
The Original Factory Shop already has 130 stores nationwide, but plans another 600 in coming years to satisfy shoppers’ 'thirst for bargains'.
And the £100million company, run from Burnley by ex-Debenhams managing director Angela Spindler, sees East Lancashire as 'fertile territory' as it takes on high-street giants and plots its expansion.
Bosses believe concentrating outlets in small towns, helping to regenerate shopping areas, is the key to success.
Currently, there are three Original Factory Shop stores in the area, in Clitheroe, Great Harwood and Todmorden.
But a buoyant Christmas period, with like-for-like sales up 16 per cent on 2008, has led Mrs Spindler to cast around for new areas to push into, including other parts of East Lancashire.
She said: “Our stores are about convenience, because they are so local.
“There are more than 1,000 small towns in the UK that fit the profile for an Original Factory Shop store.
“That means they have fewer than 20,000 people living there and so those towns tend to have lower rents.
“We are confident that there’s an opportunity for another 400 to 600 stores across the UK, and some of those will be in East Lancashire.”
The Original Factory Store’s expansion has drawn on shoppers’ desire for discounts on big brands such as Adidas and Yves Saint Laurent, as well as its moves into some former Woolworths units.
The business was founded in 1969 in Keighley, before moving to Billington Road, Burnley, in 2007.
A year later Mrs Spindler, who headed up Asda’s George line in the 1990s, was poached from Debenhams, lured by opportunities in discount retailing.
And the former marketer is confident Britons’ love of value stores will endure, even as the country emerges from recession.
She added: “Our stores do well in affluent areas, as well as not so affluent areas, because everybody is out for a bargain.
“I don’t see that changing, because people are still worried about the economy.”
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09 Jan 2010 by Burnley Citizen by Chris Hopper
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