Saturday 12th September 2015 saw the grand opening of the new Countrywide Country store take place at Sundorne Retail Park in Shrewsbury; with thousands of country lovers turning up to enjoy the activities of the day, including the ribbon cutting and interactive animals’ corner.
The event was a huge success, with a large number of shoppers taking advantage of the exciting opening offers.
A brand new Countrywide store opened at Sundorne Retail Park on Saturday; filling a gap in the town to offer local residents and people from the surrounding area a one-stop-shop for country lifestyle goods, including everything for horse and rider, animal care, garden machinery and big name brands in footwear and clothing.
Thousands of Shrewsbury residents turned up to the grand opening, where plenty of free activities were available for customers; the most popular being the animal corner, where families played with rabbits, guinea pigs, donkeys, ducks and chickens.
The Deputy Mayor of Shrewsbury, Councillor Ioan Jones, cut the ribbon at 10am on Saturday morning. Events such as a free spin the wheel game with fun prizes and face painting remained popular throughout the grand opening event, which ran until 2pm, topped off with free balloons, bucks fizz, juice and cakes.
Over the grand opening weekend, shoppers were able to benefit from various offers across big brands, like a better than half price deal on selected Hunter wellies. They also took advantage of a 20% off voucher which had been circulated by post and in the local press prior to the store's grand opening. Hundreds of people signed up to Countrywide’s loyalty scheme, Countryclub, which gives people points on purchases they make in store and online.
Countrywide took the unit at Sundorne Retail Park that was previously Homebase, next to Go Outdoors. The new store in Shrewsbury is Countrywide’s 67th store in the UK and follows the recent acquisition of Cornwall Farmers, with their 12 country stores. Later in the month Countrywide’s growth strategy continues with another new store in Salisbury and near Swansea.
Open seven days a week and stocking a wide range of brands, including Joules, Hunter, Barbour, Ariat, Toggi, NAF, Stihl, Karcher, James Wellbeloved, Royal Canin and Canagan, the store is staffed by a team of expert specialists who are passionate and knowledgeable about rural life, equestrian pursuits, animal health and nutrition.
Customers can expect to find regular promotions in store and can take advantage of Countrywide’s extended range online and free click and collect service, where goods can be ordered on the website and collected from store.
Councillor Ioan Jones, Deputy Mayor of Shrewsbury, said the following about the grand opening: "I was delighted to have been a part of this fantastic event. A new store opening in Shrewsbury is a very positive sign for the local area; especially because of the job creation and the fantastic range of rural products now available to the public here. Judging by the number of people who turned up to the grand opening event on Saturday, I think Countrywide Country Store will be a very popular shopping spot."
John Hardman, CEO of Countrywide Farmers plc, said the following about the success of the Shrewsbury store opening: "We were thrilled by the number of people who turned up to be a part of our latest grand opening. The residents of Shrewsbury really seemed to enjoy the events we put on, especially the animal corner which went down an absolute treat with adults and children alike.
"We’re proud to be able to offer an extensive range of products which help make country life better, from dog walking and horse riding to keeping chickens, gardening and country clothing. After the success of this launch we can't wait for our next grand opening in Salisbury and hope that the locals there give us as much support as we have received in Shrewsbury."
