Hi ladies!
A few weeks ago at one of our head office quarterly meetings Andrew Killingsworth, Yours CEO and Founder, explained how important it was that everyone at HQ get out and visit as many of our stores as possible. This year alone we have opened 24 new stores making an amazing total of 70, and there are plans to open lots more in 2015!
I had only ever been to our Peterborough store so I was really excited to go and see what some of the others were like, meet store staff members, and most importantly interact with our customers face to face – plus I love a mini roadtrip!
So a couple of days ago I hit the road with two of my colleagues and travelled to Cambridge and then Ely, two very different types of store locations but very close in distance. Here’s a little snapshot of my time at each location:
The Cambridge store is located in the Grafton Shopping Centre which is conveniently situated just a few minutes’ walk from the city centre and also has ample on-site parking. When we arrived we were warmly greeted by store manager Kim and the lovely Wendy. Both ladies were styled perfectly in Yours clothing (of course) and seemed excited to have visitors from HQ which made us feel all the more welcome. Manager Kim was so bright and bubbly and told me that she has a major obsession with Yours clothing and is constantly using her staff discount to fill her wardrobe much to her partner’s dismay! Full-timer Wendy moved to the UK from Bermuda and stumbled across the Yours store in Cambridge, immediately fell in love with the clothes, and then asked for a job! Both ladies’ product knowledge is amazing and seeing them in action assisting customers was impressive.
My favourite part of visiting the Cambridge store was hearing about how the staff members have been getting into the festive season by having themed dress-up days! They all recently joined in a “Party Wear” day and also came into work wearing Onesies! If you live in Cambridge or are ever in the area, please stop by and visit. The staff are so much fun and would be happy to have you!
The Ely store is one of our longest standing stores with a 15-year history! It’s located on Market Place street which, not surprisingly, is host to a number of market events. The store itself is a beautiful listed building with windows full of character and wooden beams, and fits nicely into the quaint small-town feel that Ely offers. The manager of the store is Marisa, a lovely lady with a great sense of humour and many years of retail experience. We also met full-timer Nikki who told me she had been working for Yours for about five years and knew most of the customers by their first and second names! Both ladies live locally and explained that Yours was really the only place in the city for plus size fashion!
I really enjoyed hearing a bit about the history of the Ely store; it used to be a hotel and rumour has it there is a ghost that hangs about at the top window! The store has grown so much in recent years, changing with the times, and providing the curvy ladies of Ely with on-trend fashion. Please stop by and say hello to Marisa and Nikki when you can!
During my two visits I managed to chat with a few customers. One lady said that she was a regular visitor to both our Cambridge branch and the Harlow branch; she lived in-between both locations and only ever bought her clothes from Yours! Another lady was just visiting the UK as she had emigrated to Australia and was very pleased when I told her that we also sold online and ship down-under!
Overall my mini road trip was a success and I fully enjoyed getting out of HQ for the day and experiencing other areas of the business. I can’t wait to get back on the road and visit some more stores!
To find out more about our stores and where they are located visit our store finder page!
Love Rebekah x
