Maplin sees scope for 240 British stores

Electricals and gadgets specialist Maplin sees potential to triple store numbers.

At present, Maplin has 81 shops, but managing director Graham Caldwell believes there is scope for 238.

Caldwell did not give a timescale for growth, but said Maplin had been increasing its rate of expansion recently. 'We've opened 13 stores this year and there are plans to open a further 15 next year. We might even get to 100 by the end of 2004,' he said.

The retailer has increased sales by double figures over the past four years, and Caldwell expects to hit£100 million this year 'unless it snows every day between now and Christmas'.

Maplin has also opened smaller stores recently, such as the 2,000 sq ft (185 sq m) Derby outlet, which Caldwell said had enabled the retailer to 'sanity check' its list of 238 locations. The optimum size is 5,000 sq ft (465 sq m), he said.

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