Value retail chain 99p Stores is to create over 500 new jobs in the next three years as it expands its store portfolio into Scotland, it has been announced.
Set to open at Ayr Central Shopping Centre in May, though an exact date has not been confirmed, the new 7,211 sq. ft store is currently under refurbishment to create a “state of the art” retail space.
Creating 30 new jobs in the West Scottish town, the store will be followed by four more in the country in the coming months with a view to opening an additional 25 by the end of 2016.
“Scottish shoppers are value-savvy – we are extremely excited about this next challenge,” said Commercial Director of 99p Stores Hussein Lalani.
“Spending patterns have been completely revolutionised over the last few years.
“The buying public is no longer prepared to pay a penny over the odds whatever their disposable income.
“Ayr is a town very much on the up and we are delighted to be opening our very first – of many – planned Scottish stores there.”
Last month, the discounter opened its first village store in Bromborough on The Wirral, Merseyside and villages in Scotland will also benefit from expansion, as well as cities and towns.
Discounters have proved increasingly popular in the current climate as disposable incomes continue to wane and Lalani claimed that leading supermarkets are driving cash-conscious customers away at a time of considerable change for the retail industry.
He commented: “The public has become rightly fixated and hooked on value – and we are delighted to oblige.
“The days of the public paying three times over the odds for everyday basics like branded toothpaste, coffee and washing-up liquid are a thing of the past.
“We conduct constant research and feedback and what has been coming across loud and clear is that the public are fed up of having been ‘ripped off‘ for years by the so-called Big Four supermarkets.
“When shoppers come in its heads held high and afterwards onto Facebook and Twitter sharing their great ‘value‘. It never used to be like that.
“Now people like to share and even boast about the savings they make. It‘s become the social norm.”
