Discount department store group TJ Hughes is to extend its store revamp programme following trials in five shops this year.
Six more store revamps will be undertaken in the spring. The retailer has five new-look stores at present, including three locations opened this year.
David Greenwood, finance director at JJB Sports, which bought 39-store TJ’s eight months ago, said the revamps will come before April, when a decision will be made on the expansion of TJ Hughes.
TJ Hughes chief executive George Foster and operations director Brian Douglas visited Boston in the US earlier this year to generate ideas for the new design.
Douglas, who arrived from Woolworths last year, said: ‘We’ve taken some elements from the States, but we’ve also looked at a lot of UK retailers.’
He said the pilot stores have been completely overhauled: ‘The problem with our portfolio is that some of the stores have not been updated for 15 or 20 years. In that time, some of our competitors have probably had two.’
He said some of the changes have been basic, such as the installation of air conditioning, and improved lighting and signage. There has also been greater definition of product categories.
This year, TJ Hughes has also been introducing electronic tagging and up-to-date systems to improve monitoring of stock levels.
Greenwood said of the new-look stores: ‘They are trading very well.’
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