Pep & Co, the new value fashion retailer by ex-Asda boss Andy Bond opened its first store in Kettering yesterday.
Nearly 10 years ago Bond created Asda‘s fashion line George and according to him, there is still room in the market for another player.
He‘s aiming to appeal to yummy mummies with mainstream clothes, and will also stock childrenswear and some homeware. Yesterday‘s new store opening attracted a queue of around 100, mostly young mothers accompanied by prams no less.
“This is just one store on one day,” said Adrian Mountford, Pep & Co MD and a former Sainsbury‘s and Matalan executive. “So in some ways it doesn‘t mean a lot. But it would have meant a lot if there was no one here.”
Bond is embarking on an aggressive store opening programme, which will see an additional 50 stores pop up by the end of August.
“Everyone we talk to wants to call us mad for trying,” said Bond. “But that bloke that said the world was not flat, he was thought a bit mad at the time.”
