Wellworths is six months old

Online, September 9, 2009 (Newswire.com) - The Wellworths store in Dorchester is six months old on Friday, September 11.

Claire Robertson, the former Woolworths manager who opened the store on March 11 this year, has seen her hopes confirmed and her business plan justified as the store continues to prosper.

The Dorchester store is still the only one of the famous store chain's shops to have been reopened on a Woolworths-type model after the collapse of the retailing giant in December 2008.

Claire, 34, who had spent all her working carer with Woolworths, knew that the Dorchester shop had traded profitably before and was convinced it could do so again. She got together with the landlord and put together a business plan to reopen it as her own store.

On March 11 2009 the store launched as Wellworths, re-employing almost all of the former staff. By that time the story had already caught the imagination of the media. Radio presenter Chris Evans had volunteered to do the honours, and Wellworths opened to a blaze of publicity in the press, radio and TV.

With the shop open now for six months, all the signs seem to point to a continuing success story. The store welcomed its 100,000th customer after not much more than three months had passed, and - in contrast to the old Woolworths days - manager Claire is now able to keep customers happy by adapting the store's stock to reflect the needs and opinions of the customers coming through the doors.

She said: "It has gone extremely well, and we're all really pleased.

"What is amazing is all the goodwill we continue to have. And it is not just from local people. Visitors from all over the country are still calling in at the store and wishing us good luck.

On Friday September 11 Claire will be joined in the store by young entrepeneur Vernon Kerswell, who appeared on the TV show Dragons Den on September 3 demonstrating his self-developed remote-control toy car which turns into a helicopter.

The Dragons hailed him a business star of the future and he has since been receiving personal assistance from one of them, Theo Paphitis.

Claire said: "I met Vernon at a trade event on Monday this week, and I was really impressed. Like me, he is someone who had a business idea, was determined to make it work and just got on with it.

"And when I had a look at the idea he has developed I could see that it's a great toy - for adults as well as kids. It will fit straight in on our shelves - particularly in the run-up to Christmas."

For more information about the Wellworths story contact David Murdock on 07882 699460 or at [email protected]