LEEKES CROSS HANDS REACHES 25-YEAR MILESTONE WITH COMMITMENT TO THE FUTURE IN WEST WALES

Established Welsh home retailer Leekes is celebrating 25 years of trading at its Cross Hands store this month, with eyes firmly fixed on reaching its golden anniversary.

The store, based at Cross Hands Business Parc in Carmarthenshire currently has a turnover of £18m and employs more than 130 personnel. During its 25 years the store has welcomed more than 10 million customers through its doors.

Commercial Director, Emma Leeke said: “Leekes’ Cross Hands store continues to be major contributor to our group performance and we are pleased to see it has continued to trade well despite the current economic climate.

“Carmarthenshire remains a key location for us as we develop and grow our business. We are actively involved in expanding and improving our business and that includes investment in our current store locations to provide better service and delivering the very best home products we can to our customers.

“We continue to have a very loyal and discerning customer base in the Cross Hands area who are looking for excellent service and a brand they can trust. In the current climate, people making significant purchases want to shop with a business known for its stability and track record. We are celebrating our silver anniversary with a firm commitment to expand and improve on our current store in Cross Hands in the near future.”

Last year, the Leekes Group (which has been in business for 100 years) announced news of a £37m funding agreement with Barclays Bank to support the growth of its retail business and leisure operation at the Vale Hotel, Golf and Spa Resort. Leekes Retail operates in Wales and the West with stores in Llantrisant, Cross Hands, Melksham and a large home improvement store in Tonypandy.

Cross Hands Store Manager, Peter Mundell was one of the Leekes management team that set-up the store back in 1984 and remembers the day that around 6,000 people flooded through the doors of the new store.

“Out of town retail stores didn’t exist in this area before we opened our Cross Hands store. It was a phenomenon and there was real excitement, people were queuing to get inside the store, to be one of our first customers,” said Peter.

“Naturally, there has been a huge evolution in the way our retail business has operated through the last 25 years, but our core values and relationships with customers remain the same.

“As a destination store it is all about the experience people have when they come here – our customers tend to want to spend time talking to our staff to get advice about how best to improve their homes.

“We have had great staff retention over the years too, with a group of colleagues who have been with Leekes Cross Hands since the day we opened still here today, which says a lot about our business,” said Peter.

Like all retailers, Leekes is having to innovate and come up with competitive offers for customers during a time of credit squeeze and as Peter Mundell explains Cross Hands is no different.

“Our Cross Hands store is performing relatively well compared to competitors and while we are having to be very competitive on price with our Price Promise commitment means we can give our customers the reassurance that comes from a brand that has been around for 100 years.

“Given the rate at which big retail names are falling by the wayside, 25 years in business is a milestone to really celebrate and feel positive about.”

Recent expansions at the store include the addition of a new aquatics centre and the expansion of its conservatories department. The store is also home to the best performing Hammonds outlet in the country out performing other store concessions in Manchester, Sheffield and Blue Water.