Middletons confirms all stores are to reopen next week following three-month hiatus
After closing all of its stores following the lockdown announcement on the 23rd March, Middletons has confirmed that it will reopen its shops on the 22nd June.
The bricks and mortar proposition from the owners of Oak Tree Mobility, Middletons had been implementing a rapid expansion strategy prior to the coronavirus outbreak.
Throughout 2018 and 2019, the mobility retailer launched more than 15 stores across the West Midlands, Central England and South West of England after securing significant £3.8 million investment from the Development Bank of Wales.
Prior to the outbreak, the company cut the ribbon to its Reading store in February, marking its first new store of 2020 after confirming to THIIS that it planned to six new stores in the first half of 2020.
The spread of the coronavirus and subsequent lockdown of non-essential retail stores put a halt the aggressive growth plans, however, with the company closing all of its stores and removing its shop map from its website.
One month after lockdown, the company launched an e-commerce option for customers to buy from the company, including free delivery on its ranges of scooters, beds and chairs.
Responding to the end of retail lockdown on the 15th June 2020, the company has stated that it will reopen its stores which it says have been adapted to ensure they are COVID-19 Secure, as well as offering contactless deliveries.
In an open letter from the company’s owners Ricky Towler & Tom Powell, the pair said: “Now, as ever, the entire Middletons team – across our stores, our support centres, our warehouses and in our supply chain – is working tirelessly to deliver for our customers. We’d like to say a huge thank you to all our colleagues for their dedication, and also to you, our customers, for your loyalty and understanding during these exceptional times.
“However events unfold, Middletons is here to help and we have already put in place new measures to support our customers and colleagues to make sure the store experience is not only the safest it can be, but also the very best it can be during these trying times.”
It remains to be seen what effect the lockdown will have had on the company’s expansion ambitions.
