Work has begun to fit out the shop making up the west side of 15 High Street, in Abingdon.
15 High Street was The Lion Hotel until the mid 1940s. The premises was wide enough to make 2 or 3 large shops with restaurant or offices above. The west side of number 15 became Woolworths until about 1970. Since then it has been a Home Charm Ltd, Texas Discount Store, FADS, B-Wise and lately QC.
The new shop proprietor, called ‘Savers’, say on their web site “we aim to be the most competitively priced health & beauty products and household goods retailer on the High Street.”
They are recruiting: Sales Assistant and Assistant Manager.
Good to see a shop reopening. However, Savers is a sister company to Superdrug and sells much the same items.. Hope it doesn’t lead to the latter closing, making another empty unit in the precinct. It’s hard to see how they can both survive. Sorry if this seems negative.
Don’t worry Kelly…won’t Super Drug be part of the 2nd phase of the charter devopment, starting in 2014?
I agree with Kelly, great to see an empty shop re-open but seriously? A discount store? Are there no decent retailers who want to come to Abingdon?
I think Coffee aroma was the main part of the lion, I assume if it extended further those parts of the hotel must have been demolished at some point.
What many people forget is that there are more people out there with £1.50 to spend than £10. Lots of other shopping centres manage to support Boots Superdrug and Savers so Abingdon probably can too.
Savers and Superdrug opperate side by side in many towns and cities around the UK. Most shoppers will have no idea that they are one of the same in the same way that many do not know tyhat One Stop is infact Tesco. I jst think it is good to have a high stret name filling a vacant shop where it can be seen by anyone passing thorugh the town
Paul is right. This shop is where Woolworths was for many years.
Don’t knock Savers, they’re great value in more than just health and beauty. I shop at the one in Wantage often. There Arial washing liquid is pounds cheaper than Tesco! Also they will bring several job prospects to the town. It may be cheaper but it definitely doesn’t look like a discount shop.