The Original Factory Shop in the News
Sidmouth Indoor Shopping Centre takeover bid
BUDGET chain The Original Factory Shop is moving into Sidmouth Indoor Shopping Centre.
The low-price department store announced this week that it is recruiting staff for an April opening.
Marketing Director, Colin Leggatt, said: "We are in the process of acquiring the site which was formerly the Sidmouth Indoor Shopping Centre."
Rumours have been rife in the town about businesses moving into the centre since its closure was announced last November.
Stallholders were given two months notice to cease trading and on January 30 the centre's doors closed for the final time.
The Original Factory Shop (OFS), which has a store in Honiton, offers men's, ladies' and children's fashions, as well as homewares, electricals and toiletries.
It sells a mix of well-known high street brands at discounted prices together with a range of 'cut label' and own-brand products.
A spokesperson for OFS, which is one of the UK's fastest-growing retail businesses, said: "The company, which will play an integral role in the local community, is committed to town centre shopping in an era when many other big businesses are moving to out-of-town shopping centres."
Job recruitment notices are advertising two part-time supervisor positions, 10 part-time and four weekend sales assistant positions.
And the company has submitted a planning application for a new shop front.
Mr Leggatt added: "We hope to have everything ready for an April opening."
A spokesperson for Sidmouth Chamber of Commerce said: "We are pleased to see that premises occupied and we wish the new business well. The Original Factory Shop will add to the shopping diversity of the town."
OFS, which was established in 1969 selling surplus Marks & Spencer stock, announced in September that it had identified over 400 news sites to meet an 'aggressive expansion plan' over the next five years.
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20 Mar 2010 by Sidmouth Herald
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