Family-owned department store chain Leekes has revealed record sales figures for its first full year of trading in its new home next to the Ricoh Arena in Coventry.
Heralded a success by both customers and bosses alike, the flagship store for the brand, which opened last September, has exceeded all its budget targets, announcing annual sales in excess of £10m. This is a record new store trading total for the Leekes group.
MD Emma Leeke says: “We are absolutely delighted with the success of our first full year in Coventry and have enjoyed welcoming hundreds of thousands customers through the doors, many of whom have never been to a Leekes store before.
“Having outgrown our Bedworth furniture store we took the decision to relocate to the ex-Makro site next to the Ricoh Arena last September, in order to bring a completely new 178,000 sqft home department store experience to Coventry. As a result we now offer an increased product range, including a number of new departments such as conservatories, kitchens, bathrooms, windows and doors – and concessions including Hammonds, Hulsta, Cotswold Outdoor, Farmers Fayre and Trek Bikes.
“In the first full year in our new home, we have seen in excess of a fivefold sales increase since the move from Bedworth, which we have attributed to our unique proposition of offering ‘everything for the home, under one roof'.”
Coventry’s demand for such a home department store has also led to a number of recruitment drives for the store, with staff numbers rising from 65 at point of opening to just under 100 today.
Emma adds: “Coventry marked one of the most important milestones in our 115-year family history, with the biggest challenge being the need to build awareness of who we are, where we are located and what we do and sell.
“Coventry is the biggest store in our portfolio and therefore our flagship store. We have been overwhelmed by the response and are confident that in just a few years’ time as well as being flagship in terms of size and standard of presentation, it will be the largest turnover store in our five-department store portfolio around the country.
“Our concession partners have also been delighted with their customer numbers as they too have also had to take on increased numbers of staff. In fact our Farmers Fayre cafe now ranked as no.1 on Trip Advisor for places to eat in Coventry.”
Easily accessible off Junction 3 of the M6 on the A444, Leekes occupies a seven-acre site making it the largest home department store in the Midlands.
