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They’re loving it at Ann Summers

Ann Summers, Darwin Centre, Shrewsbury, Christmas best sellers with manager Leanne Harris

If staying in is the new going out then the Christmas Party season is good news for sexy lingerie store Ann Summers.

That’s certainly the case in Shrewsbury’s busy Darwin Centre where the Ann Summers store reports a roaring pre-Christmas trade.

According to store manager Leanne Harris Christmas and Valentine’s Day are their busiest times of the year: “Christmas more so because it lasts longer,” she said.

“We also get a lot more men in before Christmas than at other times of the year because they don’t otherwise buy gifts.

“We also get a lot of desperate men rushing in on Christmas Eve because they’ve left it to the last minute

“Sexy underwear sets are usually a man buy but at Christmas we also get women coming in and saying they’re buying it as a present for their husbands.

“But the recession also means that people aren’t going out as much and so stayting in is the new going out.

“Couples often go and get something to eat and drink from the supermarket, a nice bottle of wine to have together, and then they come to us for something and have a night in together.

“But lots of women come here for their underwear because they like what we have on sale while men buy for presents.

“It can be quite funny because they often have no idea what size their partner is – when we ask them they’ll say, ‘Oh, she’s about your size but with bigger boobs or a  bigger bum,’ but we know what we’re doing so we’re able to help.”

The big sellers are the ever-popular French maid sets and Santa suits but the store is an Aladdin’s Cave of frills and lace, massage oils and chocolate body rubs, saucy games and fantasy outfits from Super Woman to Naughty Nurses.

Russell Hall, Operations Manager for the Darwin, Pride Hill and Riverside Shopping Centres, said: “Ann Summers is a popular store and like everywhere else it’s a busy time for them.

“The staff there are very professional and it certainly adds to the variety that we have in our retail offer here in Shrewsbury”

The party season is certainly a boost to trade with the Secret Santa gifts popular where shoppers buy something for £5 for a company or business party and Leanne says there’s plenty of choice.

“We sell everything from outfits to toys, edibles to massage oils and a lot more besides.

“We often have to help people out but it’s all about customer service and often you have to work out what they want and whether they want something pretty, something raunchy or something sexy but subtle.

“You certainly have to be open minded because anything goes and everyone is different but we’re very well trained and nothing fazes us here at all – it’s each to their own and every customer is different.

“We do get people here regularly for cross-dressing and they tend to come in very early or very late at night and we let them use the fitting rooms if it’s quiet.

“We also get a lot of people who ask us for advice about the products we sell – they often treat us as sex consultants and because we know what we’re talking about a lot of customers tell us things they wouldn’t tell anyone else.

“Ann Summers is unique. No-one else on the high street does what we do and we have to be absolutely 100 per cent but it’s a great place to work.”

 

Wednesday December 7th, 2011

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Top hospital in green energy switch

Bill Wilkinson Head of Estates at Calderstones Hospital with Gareth Jones of Carbon Zero

A North Wales renewable energy company has helped a ground-breaking North West hospital go ‘green’ thanks to the installation of a major solar power system.

Carbon Zero UK has just completed a major project to fit 112 solar panels on the roof of a building at Calderstones Hospital, at Whalley, near Clitheroe, in Lancashire.

Gareth Jones, Managing Director of St Asaph-based Carbon Zero UK, said: “The hospital is a leader in the field of health provision for people with learning disabilities and now it’s pioneering a way in the field of renewable energy.

“We’re delighted to have been involved in such an important project for such a prestigious client.”

The panels, each of them 1.6 metres by 0.9 metres, will generate electricity to help power the hospital’s ground-source heating pumps as part of a comprehensive plan by the Calderstones Partnership NHS Foundation Trust to reduce CO2 emissions.

The hospital provides care for people with learning disabilities from across the North West of England.

The Trust’s Head of Estates, Bill Wilkinson, said: “We have done energy conservation work at the hospital already and a new building is being constructed which will be heated by ground-source pumps and we felt that we should try and ensure the pumps were powered by a green technology
rather than off the national grid.

“We chose solar power because it seemed the best option and it really is ideal for buildings which are south-facing and have a large roof area and what really made the difference for us was the Government’s new feed-in tariffs which meant we would recoup the expense within seven years.

“”We invited Carbon Zero to tender and chose them because  they had experience of installing similar systems on large buildings such as Glyndwr University in Wrexham.

“The other advantages of solar power are that it is not intrusive in the way that wind turbines can be and it is very low maintenance – basically it sits on your roof and gets on with the job.”

Gareth Jones added: “This is cutting edge technology that will reduce the building’s carbon footprint by nearly 12 tons a year and generate about 22,000 kW/h of electricity.

“It underlines how important the new ‘green’ technologies are for the future of the construction industry and how buildings such as hospitals can be ideal sites to take advantage of solar power.”

The new solar power systemcould provide enough energy to save the hospital up to £2000 a year and provide annual benefits in the region of £9,500 per year.

“There really has never been a better time to go green and solar power is just one of the many new
technologies available today, many of which have been incorporated into the hospital.

“We specialise in a whole range of technologies for domestic and commercial properties including air and ground-source heating, biomass boilers, wind turbines and rainwater harvesting.

“Solar power is a fantastic option for buildings with large roof areas and is also a realistic opportunity for homes as well.

“We’re delighted to have been involved in such a prestigious project and it shows that these technologies and the expertise to install them exist in North Wales.”

Bill Wilkinson added: “This is part of our plan to reduce our carbon emissions by ten per cent by 2015. The energy provided by the solar power will be multiplied three or four times by the ground-source heat pumps.

“We’ve been very pleased with the way the project has gone and would definitely look at further solar power with the only constraint being the 50 kilowatt limit above which the payments reduce.

“But we do have other suitable roofs on our buildings which could be used and we believe it is a good idea for hospitals which tend to have large roof areas.

“It also complements the other measures we’ve taken such as thermal insulation, gas boilers, low energy lighting and building management control systems and we see it as a very low impact solution and, with a guaranteed 25 years of service, one which has a long life.”

Wednesday December 7th, 2011

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Charity shop celebrates anniversary

l-r Daisie Wright aged 18, Joan Leach, Graham Wild, Connie Ingham of Brinscall, Suzanne Ellis, Brenda Denby, Barbara Gallagher, Ian Berry of Liverpool and Christine Corcoran -- all from Chorley apart from the two mentioned.

A CHORLEY charity shop and its dedicated team of volunteers are celebrating their 15th anniversary of trading in the town and raising more than half a million pounds for charity.

Six of the 28 volunteers at the British Heart Foundation shop in Market Walk have supported
the store since it opened in November 1996, clocking up almost 100 years of volunteer work between them.

One of them is Connie Ingham, 78, from Brinstall, who started volunteering at the shop just two months after her husband Cyril died suddenly from a heart attack, aged 63.

Connie, a grandmother-of-four and great grandmother-of-two, said: “It is devastating and unbelievable when you lose a loved one so suddenly to a heart attack.

“I cannot explain how you feel but you feel you have died as well. For me, the hardest times were at night when it would hit home to me that Cyril was not coming home and it was horrible.”

She added: “When I left the house that morning, he closed the garage door for me and then suddenly he was gone. That was the last time I saw him alive. He had taken early retirement and had only been finished nine weeks. There was absolutely no warning at all that it was going to happen.”

Following Cyril’s death, Connie received some money from the firm her husband had worked for and she decided to donate all of it to the British Heart Foundation.

She said: “When the man from the British Heart Foundation came to collect the money, he told me about the new shop opening in Market Walk and would I be interested in volunteering. But I had just lost my husband and I wasn’t really interested in anything. But a good friend of mine said she would come with me and persuaded me to go along. I have been working there ever since.”

Connie has also been helping her partner Tom through his own battle with heart disease following a recent bypass operation.

The British Heart Foundation is a national charity which works to prevent people dying prematurely from heart disease. Money raised goes towards pioneering research, vital prevention work and care and support for people living with the disease. From funding specialist nurses to raising awareness about the causes of heart disease, the charity, which has been running since 1961, gives a wealth of support to health professionals and families battling the disease.

Manager of the Market Walk shop, Suzanne Ellis, has worked full time at the store since it opened and said they simply could not survive without the support of their volunteers.

She said: “They are all very dedicated and committed people and I couldn’t run the shop without them. They are very precious to us and that is why we look after them.

“We fill them up with tea, coffee, biscuits and sweets and we all get on very well. It is more like a family than a shop.

“We all get through our problems in life together and look out for one another. They are just a lovely team to work with.”

Suzanne also praised her Chorley customers who continue to visit and buy from the shop raising vital funds for the national heart charity.

Suzanne, 55,a mother-of-one from Clayton-Le-Willows, whose own mother, Barbara, suffers from heart problems and has to have regular checks, said: “We have very loyal, regular customers in Chorley, which keeps the shop going, but we are always after more stock.

“Market Walk is a good spot for us because it has a good footfall  which keeps the shop busy and since Poundland opened, we have noticed even more customers, especially on a Sunday which has
traditionally been a quieter day for us.”

Ian Mousdell, Market Walk manager, said: “It is heart warming to hear of the support the British Heart Foundation shop has from its dedicated band of volunteers and the many loyal customers who come to Market Walk and visit it.

“It is a very important cause and we all look forward to the shop’s inclusion in Market Walk for another 15 years.”

Christmas cards and gifts are on sale now at the British Heart Foundation shop in Market Walk. To find out more about volunteering at the Chorley shop, call 01257 231702.

Wednesday December 7th, 2011

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