Member Article

Retailer makes tree planting pledge on back of most successful store opening

A national retailer says its recent £200,000 store opening in Leicester has been the most successful in its history with over 70% of customers ordering products within the first six weeks of trading.

And to say thank you, and on the back of the recent UN climate change conference, it is pledging to plant more trees in the local area.

Shoppers have been flocking to Flooring Superstore’s store in St George’s Way since it opened the start of October.

Sales targets were smashed during the first six weeks of opening with 72% of people who visited the store ordering flooring – a record for the retailer.

Flooring Superstore invested £175,000 in the opening of the 2,480 square foot outlet which created four new jobs for local people. Leicester was the 20th store launched by the retailer since April 2021.

Flooring Superstore is planting to one tree for every customer order it has received. This is on the back of the recent UN climate change conference in Glasgow. It has already planted over 3.5 million trees in just over a year via its sustainability programme.

Simon Forrester, Flooring Superstore Regional Manager, said: “We said just prior to opening that we had waited until the right opportunity presented itself in Leicester and it looks like this patience has been rewarded because we are overwhelmed by the initial success of the store.

“The fact that over 70% of people who visited us during the first six weeks of trading is incredible and it’s safe to say this completely smashed our original sales target.

“It’s still early days, of course, but we are really proud of how well the store has performed in such a short space of time, and we have the people of Leicester to thank for this.

“We are also delighted to be able to increase our tree planting programme as part of our pledge to lower our carbon footprint and help the environment.”

During 2021, Flooring Superstore has also launched stores in Huddersfield, Doncaster, Newcastle, Norwich, Lincoln, Hull, Orpington, Basingstoke, Carlisle, Reading, Catford, Kidderminster, Plymouth, Preston, Glasgow, Southampton, and Ipswich.

Simon added: “Very few national retailers have expanded as rapidly as we have over the last 18 months and despite everything the pandemic has thrown at the retail sector, successful store openings like Leicester demonstrate we were correct in taking this approach.

“Being able to supply every type of flooring, such carpets, real wood, laminate and artificial grass, under one roof so people don’t need to shop around is definitely one of the key factors in the success; another is being able to sell this flooring at online pricing, reflecting our origins as an e-commerce retailer less than ten years ago, and waiting until the right location comes along has definitely been a major factor!”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Neil Shaefer .