10:51am Tuesday 17th November 2009
By Ruth Lumley
Crowds of shoppers flocked to a new 99p store to snap up earlybird bargains.
People started queueing outside the 99p Store in London Road, Brighton, from 7.15am, almost two hours before it was due to open.
Traders in the area learned the shop was opening up in the former Woolworths site less than two weeks ago when workmen were sent to refit it.
The revelation angered business bosses, traders and councillors who said the shop wouldn’t help regenerate the area and could potentially put other shops in the road out of business.
But yesterday told a different story as thousands visited the shop to see what was on offer.
The opening has created about 30 jobs and is the chain’s second store in Brighton – the other shop is in North Street.
Graham Barnes, a spokesman for the 99p Store, said: “It was terrific and we are very pleased.
“We welcomed more than 2,000 new customers to the 99p family. They were all delighted with what was on offer and what they took away.
“We are looking at other sites in Sussex to open new stores.”
It is not the first time a budget store has drawn hundreds of people to London Road in the hope of bagging a bargain.
Supermarket Aldi vowed to build another store in Sussex after hundreds turned up to the opening of its store in London Road in March.
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