The Range opens in Colchester

Value superstore group The Range Home & Leisure opened its latest shop, in Colchester, last week and will open in Kidderminster, Worcestershire, later this year.

The Colchester debut follows The Range's success in areas including the South, Southwest and Wales.

Chief executive and sole owner Chris Dawson said: 'Colchester was strategically placed to complement the efficiencies of (the store in) Ipswich.'

The Range now has nine stores in Plymouth, Exeter, Newport, Cardiff, Swansea, Southampton, Gosport, Colchester and Ipswich.

The business was launched by Dawson, a former market trader, in 1989.

The first two shops were originally branded CDS Superstore, but the Exeter store was rebadged as The Range Home and Leisure in 2000 and the Plymouth store followed earlier this month.

The Range, which competes 'against everybody', according to Dawson, sells more than 67,000 products ranging from textiles and homewares to DIY and gifts. Food and fashion are not carried.

The retailer was listed in 51st position in the Sunday Times Profit Track 100 earlier this month, having increased profits by 47 per cent a year from£967,000 to£3.1 million last year.