The CEO of leading decorating and DIY specialist Leyland SDM has revealed the continuing expansion plans to open even more stores in London as the business prepares for another year of growth in 2021.
Chief Executive Jonathan Jennings has confirmed that Leyland SDM will open at least six new stores across London before the end of the year.
Following Leyland SDM’s acquisition of GDC Paints in July 2020, the first of those stores is now rebranded to Leyland SDM in Acton with Tooting, Cricklewood, Fulham North and Greenford to be transformed before the end of May.
The next locations to see the business place a foothold will be Clapham Junction in May and on Holloway Road in the summer which allows professionals and DIYers in the area to take advantage of the huge range of stock held in each store, as well as professional advice and competitive prices.
The new openings are set to create dozens of jobs across the capital, mainly in the stores but also in the Support Centre as the business continues to grow and produce a variety of new opportunities.
Jonathan said: “It’s an extremely exciting time for the business. We are on the march and progressing in a controlled manner. We have all heard the pain of the retail sector over the last 12 months and we are delighted to be bucking the trend with our expansion.
“The plan has always been to grow the business and, by the end of 2021, we will have gone from having 21 stores to having at least 32 in a three year period.
“I think there are a few reasons for that – home improvements have become extremely popular in recent times and there is no sign of that slowing, and customers clearly enjoy the outstanding customer service we offer and our huge product availability across a host of decorating and DIY categories.
“Our nationwide delivery service has got off to a very strong start with more than a third of our online orders this year coming from outside London – in areas where we won’t be well known – which is very encouraging.”
While central London remains the area of priority in the search for potential new sites, the plans are to look outside the heart of the capital and build on last year’s opening in Kingston.
Jonathan added: “We have a very strong presence in what I would call inner London, in the areas around the Northern and Southern Circular, but there is absolutely no reason why we won’t look around Greater London and beyond.
“The Kingston store is performing well and that model can work anywhere else in the south east – or beyond.”
A programme of enhancements of Leyland’s SDM longest-serving stores is also being launched this year.
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