John Wood
Alldays is developing its first new stores since its massive decline which began in 1999 and has left the 600-store chain with debts of £186m.
Chief executive Stuart Lawson said a new store would open in Barry in South Wales during July or August, with a second at Ashington in West Sussex scheduled for September or October. Two additional stores are also in the pipeline.
Lawson said the new stores would not look radically different to existing stores, but would use latest thinking in areas such as layout and ranging.
The new developments are part of a strategy which Lawson has put into action over the last year, which have seen margins rise from 2.2% to 4% and like for like sales growth up from 2.5% to 4.5%.
Although the company faces financial constraints because of its debt, he said it had invested in its HR and IT in order to lay the foundations for long-term growth. Assessments of every store manager have been carried out and training provided both for them and their staff, and pay and conditions have been improved, leading to a more motivated and effective workforce, said Lawson.
The company is also putting more resources into recruitment of staff. "The most sophisticated system won't work if you don't start with the right people. We aim to be an employer of choice."
Alldays has also worked with an EPoS supplier to provide a system that will give head office more control over pricing and availability.
Other low cost initiatives such as focusing on improving margins and refining the product mix and store layout are also under way.
Lawson said: "We have a long-term strategy and we are ahead of where we aimed to be at this time."
However, in its interim results last week, interest costs of £6.1m pushed Alldays to a pre-tax loss of £4.6m, and he acknowledged that the debt burden was a major problem.
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Alldays is developing its first new stores since its massive decline which began in 1999 and has left the 600-store chain with debts of £186m.
Chief executive Stuart Lawson said a new store would open in Barry in South Wales during July or August, with a second at Ashington in West Sussex scheduled for September or October. Two additional stores are also in the pipeline.
Lawson said the new stores would not look radically different to existing stores, but would use latest thinking in areas such as layout and ranging.
The new developments are part of a strategy which Lawson has put into action over the last year, which have seen margins rise from 2.2% to 4% and like for like sales growth up from 2.5% to 4.5%.
Although the company faces financial constraints because of its debt, he said it had invested in its HR and IT in order to lay the foundations for long-term growth. Assessments of every store manager have been carried out and training provided both for them and their staff, and pay and conditions have been improved, leading to a more motivated and effective workforce, said Lawson.
The company is also putting more resources into recruitment of staff. "The most sophisticated system won't work if you don't start with the right people. We aim to be an employer of choice."
Alldays has also worked with an EPoS supplier to provide a system that will give head office more control over pricing and availability.
Other low cost initiatives such as focusing on improving margins and refining the product mix and store layout are also under way.
Lawson said: "We have a long-term strategy and we are ahead of where we aimed to be at this time."
However, in its interim results last week, interest costs of £6.1m pushed Alldays to a pre-tax loss of £4.6m, and he acknowledged that the debt burden was a major problem.
{{NEWS }}
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