99p Stores is the trade mark name of a budget chain of shops launched in 2001. 99p Stores are wonderful. They are located all around Britain and everything is 99p or less. The founder stated that he made sure everything was sold at 99p or less because he wanted to undercut Poundland.
The 99p Store in my town is actually located in the same building where Woolworths closed down due to lack of customers. The last time I was in that 99p Store, I actually heard a woman complaining. She said "these queues are too long". Do you know what, the queues were very long. Every checkout was opened yet, the queues went half-way back into the store! All of this in exactly the same site where Woolworths went bust because they couldn't sell enough stuff!
99p Stores sell everything from hardware to food.
When the budget supermarket Lidl came out I loved it. When I discovered Poundland, I was in money saving ecstasy. Now that 99p Stores are on the scene, I feel as though I have finally found the greatest shop in the universe.
Business lessons to learn from 99p Stores
Advertising and marketing: They have never done any advertising. I have read many books talking about the importance of marketing and branding etc, but all that really matters is selling a product the consumer wants. Their carrier bags are free (unlike Lidl) and have their logo printed on it, so that is a cost effective way of advertising. The only time I have seen them in the national press was when the papers ran a story about how they were selling a beach bikini for 99p. Newspaper stories are free advertising, Donald Trump said this in his book "The Art of the Deal". Its worth noting that the popular Reggae Reggae sauce brand from Dragons Den has never been advertised either, is only sold in Sainsbury's, yet managed to outsell tomato ketchup. Expensive marketing campaigns are not necessary.
Customer Service: So many books talk about the importance of customer service. The fact is, I couldn't care less if the staff swore at me while I do my shopping, as long as what I'm buying is cheap and fit for purpose. I'm not there to be pampered, I'm there to save money. The big supermarket chains like Morrisons usually have excellent customer service, but I don't go there simply because I can get things more cheaply in 99p Stores. I actually found the customer service to be very good in 99p stores, but I would never factor that into my decision to buy there. I remember Woolworths having excellent customer service, but who cares. I'm glad they went bust, because now I can buy things even more cheaply from 99p Stores. The amount of customers in the stores show that I am not the only person who feels this way.
You can look at some of the goods 99p Stores sell on their website. They have much more than this in store, so visit one, to see what they've got.
The 99p Store in my town is actually located in the same building where Woolworths closed down due to lack of customers. The last time I was in that 99p Store, I actually heard a woman complaining. She said "these queues are too long". Do you know what, the queues were very long. Every checkout was opened yet, the queues went half-way back into the store! All of this in exactly the same site where Woolworths went bust because they couldn't sell enough stuff!
99p Stores sell everything from hardware to food.
When the budget supermarket Lidl came out I loved it. When I discovered Poundland, I was in money saving ecstasy. Now that 99p Stores are on the scene, I feel as though I have finally found the greatest shop in the universe.
Business lessons to learn from 99p Stores
Advertising and marketing: They have never done any advertising. I have read many books talking about the importance of marketing and branding etc, but all that really matters is selling a product the consumer wants. Their carrier bags are free (unlike Lidl) and have their logo printed on it, so that is a cost effective way of advertising. The only time I have seen them in the national press was when the papers ran a story about how they were selling a beach bikini for 99p. Newspaper stories are free advertising, Donald Trump said this in his book "The Art of the Deal". Its worth noting that the popular Reggae Reggae sauce brand from Dragons Den has never been advertised either, is only sold in Sainsbury's, yet managed to outsell tomato ketchup. Expensive marketing campaigns are not necessary.
Customer Service: So many books talk about the importance of customer service. The fact is, I couldn't care less if the staff swore at me while I do my shopping, as long as what I'm buying is cheap and fit for purpose. I'm not there to be pampered, I'm there to save money. The big supermarket chains like Morrisons usually have excellent customer service, but I don't go there simply because I can get things more cheaply in 99p Stores. I actually found the customer service to be very good in 99p stores, but I would never factor that into my decision to buy there. I remember Woolworths having excellent customer service, but who cares. I'm glad they went bust, because now I can buy things even more cheaply from 99p Stores. The amount of customers in the stores show that I am not the only person who feels this way.
You can look at some of the goods 99p Stores sell on their website. They have much more than this in store, so visit one, to see what they've got.
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