QD Stores

Pictured is QD’s Group Managing Director, Justin Farrington Smith, who is delighted that the company’s success has been recognised by retail experts.

The QD Stores Group has been named as a finalist in one of the UK’s most prestigious retail industry awards, the Oracle® Retail Week Awards 2010.

Norwich-based QD has been shortlisted as a finalist in the Emerging Retailer of the Year category, which recognises the success and achievements of retail businesses whose new concepts have made them stand out from other retailers in the highly competitive UK retail market.

QD Group Managing Director, Justin Farrington Smith, expressed his delight at the news. “Reaching the finals is a tremendous achievement for us and demonstrates that QD’s strong customer focus and phenomenal growth over the past 12 months have been acknowledged by key players in the retail industry.

Every member of our team, from the shop floor upwards, has made a major contribution to making 2009 a most successful year in terms of trading, expansion and growth in employee numbers. We look forward to building upon that success by opening more new stores across the UK in the coming year and bringing our unique blend of high quality, great value shopping to the widest possible customer base.”

2009 has seen the QD Stores Group expand its core network of high street stores to thirty-three, with premises exceeding 1 million square feet. Between April and November, the retailer greatly increased its presence on the high street by opening eight new stores in quick succession located in Norfolk, Suffolk, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire and Hertfordshire, all of which have made an important contribution towards revitalising town centre trade.

The company’s recruitment drive created national TV news headlines when it held open days to fill an average of 25 vacancies per store and was swamped by 1000s of applicants looking for jobs. QD currently employs over 1,000 staff throughout its nationwide chain of high street shops, Cherry Lane garden centres, Buyright, its Suffolk superstore, and specialist fishing outlet, Lathams, on the Broads.