-
73 Victoria Road
Woolworths for 99p
Photo credit:
a shadow of my future self 99p Stores Ltd open shop on Victoria Road site.
The site had been vacant since the demise of the popular high street retailer early this year, during which 99p Stores snapped up 15 former Woolworths stores and had many of them reopened within seven days.
99p Stores buying director Faisal Lalani said that turning around the stores was an easy job, "The flooring and ceiling were already there so all we had to do was put in shelving, tills and stock."
The Surbiton site one of 100 stores the company hope to open by the end of the year, creating an estimated 1,000 jobs and increasing their turnover to £250m.
By posting content on Surbiton.com, you agree to adhere to the following guidelines.
- Your username and password must only be used by you, keep them safe. If a posting is made using your username and password it will be considered to have been posted by you. If you have a friend who wants to use our site and post messages on the site, show them how to register.
- Be courteous at all times, inciting racial hatred, posting abusive, obscene, threatening, harassing, defamatory, libellous or sexually explicit material or any material that is found to be offensive is not acceptable and we may suspend your username and password.
- Retaliating to offensive posts causes more problems for other users on the discussion boards. Just report such messages to us using the Feedback link which is available at the top of every page or the 'report this' link associated with individual postings. We will act on every report we receive.
- Please respect other people's work and do not post material that infringes copyright.
- Do not post information that you know to be confidential or sensitive or otherwise in breach of the law. You should only post material that you know to be public knowledge. If you have any doubts do not post it on the site.
- Never attempt to gain unauthorised access to any area of the site. This is known as hacking and is illegal.
- Content posted represents the opinions of the author, and does not represent the opinions of Surbiton.com or its affiliates and has not been approved or issued by Surbiton.com. You should be aware that the other participants are strangers to you and may make statements which may be misleading, deceptive or wrong.
- Spoofing or posing as another user is unacceptable. Anonymous users' postings should always be considered with suspicion.
- Help keep Surbiton.com a safe place for information and opinion. Please alert us of any anti-social behaviour as described above.
Surbiton.com 1998 - 2024
Comments
This is some store, M&S could learn a thing or two about real retailing,customer service and great value for money.
A superb addition to our tired old town.
It is good to see that store in use again, the empty store was a complete eyesore. There will obviously be some disappointment that the best Surbiton can attract on one if it's most prime sites is a discount store, but it is much better than another long term empty shop.
I always found that Woolworths was the one place that you could buy a lot of odds and ends without venturing into Kingston. This 99p store will fill part of this gap, but not all of it.
I can understand the dectractors as well, though. Like many, I am proud of Surbiton as a place to live, and when you look at the motley selection of towns where the 99p store already have branches, it is disappointing to see Surbiton at that level. Victoria Road has been scruffy for years, but I think there had been a distinct improvement in the years leading up to the recession. This is not a step in the right direction.
That said, we have to remember that the 99p store replaces a dilapidated old Woolworths, not a Harrods Food Hall.
I wonder if we will see them in Richmond or Esher next?
Splendid addition to Victoria Road,i understand it employs up to 30 people,which seems an awful lot;but if true,this is great news.
I can only walk into Surbiton now that the King Charles Road bridge is only one lane and the "flow" pavement is the preferred bicycle lane so I doubt that I shall be a regular customer,do they deliver?
Well I think the 99p Shop will give a much needed boost to Surbiton, although I am sure local shopkeepers will have a differing opinion. It feels light and airy, plenty of aisles and on the day it opened, there were long queues but we didn't have long to wait until we paid. Great for toiletries, stationery, Xmas bits, household - even brand-name food - ! Maybe now other shops will have to lower their prices, about time too. Now all we need is a WH Smith so I can get my free DVDs from the Daily Mail.
I have to say I went in there today and there was a lovely atmosphere reminiscent of Woolworths. It was warm and busy with plenty of cheap and cheerful things to buy. I hated seeing the old Woolworths building dark and empty, it was so sad.
Post new comment