The owner of the family run 99p Stores chain, Nadir Lalani is seeking a buyer for his enterprise, estimated to be worth £60 million.
The company opened its first shop in the London Borough of Islington in 2001, but over the last decade, this has increased to 173 commercial properties throughout the UK. The company’s growth was helped with the demise of the Woolworths chain in 2008, when the company took occupancy of approximately 48 of the 807 commercial properties available.
The company thrives itself on offering over 3000 products all costing under one pound, as stated on their website: “The company’s retailing concept is extremely simple: a range of more than 3,000 items, each offered at under a pound – representing amazing value for money.” Products sold in the stores, include: cleaning, food, toys, fashion, garden and baby products, just to name a few.
With bills rising and many people’s disposable income disappearing, people have turned to discount stores to buy essentials that they would normal buy from supermarkets. The change in consumer habits has helped boost an increase of 26 per cent in sales, which equated to £231 million. This led the company to earn £6.3 million in pre-tax profits last year.
Speaking about the company’s success, Hussein Lalani, Managing Director, expressed: “Shoppers’ thirst for value is unquenchable. The ‘value genie’ is well and truly out of the bottle across the high street and there’s no putting it back in.
“When times get better, demanding value will have become an integral part of the daily shopping habit of Britons. That will be one of the better things, if not the only thing, to have come out of this recession,” Mr Lalani added.
The company is aiming to open over 400 more commercial properties in the next ten years, to bring its total to 600 stores across the UK. However, the owners are not limiting themselves to just 99 pence, as they have opened a new chain of stores called Family Bargains. These stores, offers consumers over 8000 discounted products, but are not tied to a single price.
A buyer has not yet been found for the multi-million pound chain, but Electra Partners are believed to be front runners and have shown plenty of interest in the company. If a buyer for the commercial property chain is found, it is thought that Hussein Lalani, Managing Director and Faisal Lalani, Buying Director (both of Nadir’s sons) will continue to run the family business.
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