Friends opens third shop at new centre

Press, 17 March 1987, Page 33

Friends opens third shop at new centre

Billed as a women’s clothing shop for women with “good taste,” the new Friends shop at the Countdown Centre caters for tastes of a wide age group.

According to the manageress of the new shop, Mrs Lorraine Williams, the shop buys very close to the market, but also caters for the classical.

Quality of service to customers is regarded highly by the shop, as its staff are not “cash and wrap” operators, says Mrs Williams.

“The staff also provide good service, whereby any garment not in the shop that a customer wants, we’ll try and obtain from another shop, the manufacturers, or where needed, we’ll refer them

to another shop. The main thing is to keep the customer happy,” she said.

There are two other Friends shops at the Shades. “The Shades is still our ’flagship’; where we try out new ideas and see how well customers respond to them, so there’s always something different there,” Mrs Williams says.

Jewellery is also provided, along with belts as accessories.

Imported Italian lighting at the new shop helps complement the garment more than the fixtures themselves. "We’re not here to impress people with the decor, but to try and provide comfort for the customers to shop in,” she says.