Pep & Co Announce Further Expansion of St Peters Quarter Store

A family fashion retailer in Derby’s St Peters Quarter has marked its six month anniversary with the announcement of plans to double the size of its store.

Pep & Co opened in August specialising in value ranges of clothes for men, women and children and homewares on the 4,000 sq ft ground floor of the former Next store in Albion Street. Store Manager Andy Cheetham confirmed today that the first floor of the building will be opened on 22nd March, initially as a clearance department.  This will create one new sales assistant job in addition to the ten staff already employed.

He explained: “Pep & Co was launched last July and we now have 50 stores across the UK including in St Peters Quarter. “Our mission is to bring value retail back onto the high street to encourage regeneration of towns and cities where we operate. “The clearance department is a new venture for us and will sell items from across all our stores. “We are delighted with the success of the store here in Albion Street and have had a great response from customers. “A particular bonus for us has been the support of the St Peters Quarter BID which has been invaluable in raising the profile of the store and helping us to become part of the business community in this part of the city centre. “We were very keen to get involved in the BID from the outset and this has included collecting the money raised from selling 5p carrier bags which will be donated to the Jubilee project at the nearby St Peter’s in the City which supports people facing debt issues.”

Pep & Co will also feature in an ITV documentary which is due to air after Easter. Andy continued: “Over the past few weeks, the store, myself and the team have been involved in filming for the documentary which is still under wraps.  We hope that we will be featured in the series at some stage.”

Stephen Jeffery is Board Chair of St Peters Quarter Business Improvement District (BID), which is the core retail area between the Cathedral Quarter and Intu Derby shopping centre.
He said: “Pep & Co are one of the many success stories of the past five years since the BID programme was launched. “We are now in the process of planning the next five years and producing a BID plan which will go to the vote amongst local businesses in St Peters Quarter this July.“News that Pep & Co are further expanding is testament to the continued appeal of this central part of the city centre to visitors and inward investors alike and to the role that the BID has played in supporting existing and new businesses in the area.”

Pep & Co has been established by former Asda chief executive Andy Bond, with the backing of a £20 million initial investment. It is run by an experienced management retail management team with more than 70 years of combined experience, including former Matalan commercial director Adrian Mountford. The 400 businesses included in the St Peters Quarter BID area are currently being canvassed for their views on the work that has already been completed during the five-year programme and the work needed in the next five years.  Their views and research collated will be compiled into a business plan which will be put to the vote at the end of June. For the BID ballot  to be successful, more than 50% of the number of businesses and more than 50% of the rateable value of the businesses who vote have to say yes.  The results will be announced at the end of July.

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