Dudley Zoo’s Sumatran tigress, Daseep – in the shape of a cake – joined the Deputy Mayor of Dudley to officially open the new Oak Furniture Land store on Merry Hill Retail Park on Saturday 19th April. The life-size cake of Daseep’s head took centre stage as the Deputy Mayor presented the confectionery creation to Dudley Zoo’s chief executive Peter Suddock on behalf of the new Oak Furniture Land store.
Oak Furniture Land – the UK’s largest retailer of solid hardwood furniture – commissioned the life-size cake of Daseep’s head to celebrate its arrival in town and show its support for one of the area’s oldest tourist attractions. The new store, located at Unit 92A on the Merry Hill Retail Park, is 18,000 sq ft and features the latest made-to-match sofa ranges as well as 20 ranges of high quality oak, mango and mahogany furniture. From traditional to contemporary styles, the store displays exclusively-designed furniture to compliment all tastes – for the bedroom, dining room, living room and hallway.
Store manager Helen Dale says: “This is our first store in Dudley, and the third in the West Midlands. We’ve created 7 new local jobs and to celebrate we have some amazing offers in-store.”
Councillor Margaret Aston, deputy mayor of Dudley, says: “This new Oak Furniture Land store is a welcome investment in terms of job creation, and is a nice addition to the choices of shops for local residents.”
Peter Suddock, chief executive of Dudley Zoo, says: “As the area’s oldest tourist attraction, we are delighted to welcome Oak Furniture Land to the borough and wish them every success for the future. The Daseep tiger cake is a wonderful gesture to highlight one of the world’s rarest big cats - there are now fewer than 140 Sumatran tigers in the wild and Dudley Zoo's conservation programme with this endangered species is vital to their survival.”
The cake sculpture of Daseep the tiger has been designed by acclaimed West Midlands based cake artist Annabel de Vetten of Conjurers Kitchen and CakeBomb.
The Merry Hill store opening times are Monday to Friday from 9am to 8pm, Saturday from 9am to 6pm and Sunday from 10.30am to 5pm (10:30 am - 11:00 am viewing only).
