Among the haul of national retail chains at the Whiteley Shopping Centre recruitment day, two small firms from the Western Wards were delighted to be expanding their businesses onto the new development site.
A queue of job-seekers at the Whiteley Shopping Centre recruitment event
Little Soles children’s shoe shop which currently has a store in Warsash has decided to recruit four new staff members to help run the Brook Lane shop, as well as the new one in Whiteley.
Co-owner Emma Rowsell said they had decided to expand after the store’s recent success winning the New Independent Retailer of the Year in The Footwear Industry Awards.
“Warsash has been going really well and we’re hoping to take that over to Whiteley,” she said. “Some people have said we’re mad after only one year.
“It’s a positive thing to be alongside the big brands. It offers choice. People will probably walk out of our store and into Clarks and walk out of Clarks and into our store. It’s healthy competition.”
People queued across the Solent Hotel car park for the recruitment event today (March 27) and Husband and wife business partners Fiona Thomas and David Williams were delighted to talk to potential new staff members.
The couple are expanding the homemade and locally produced Fresh to Desk lunch delivery service concept into a bistro called Montagu’s at the new £64m shopping centre.
They plan to recruit between 15 and 20 people, ranging from chefs to assistant manages, to help run their new bistro service in the market square section of the new site.
“It’s a thoroughly exciting opportunity,” said Ms Thomas. “Fresh to Desk launched a couple of years ago to cater for local business in the area because we thought there wasn’t a lot of choice locally.
“Then we heard about this development at the Whiteley Shopping Centre and we thought we’d love to be involved.
“I can’t believe it’s happening. The emphasis they have is on independent retailers which I think is admirable. There was fierce competition to get it though.”
Although the six independent companies to be retailing at the venue have yet to be confirmed as completing the lease-signing process, shopping centre manager Neil Carter said it was a good sign that these two were at the recruitment drive event.