Family-owned furnishings retailer Leekes has announced that its flagship store in Llantrisant is set to embark on the final stage of its multimillion-pound refurbishment project this spring.
Phase 3 marks a significant milestone in the store’s transformation, bringing upgrades and new offerings to enhance the shopping experience for all its customers.
Starting in Spring 2025, the refurbishment will focus on upgrading the final building in the store, cementing Leekes Llantrisant as a premier destination for home, garden, and lifestyle shopping.
While work is underway, its accessories department will temporarily relocate to the building on the right of the new furniture floor. The garden product range will also move to a new marquee conveniently accessible from the same building.
As part of the redevelopment, Leekes will create a brand new entrance to its decorating, DIY, and building departments, located under the staircase leading to the café. This will make access more seamless for customers navigating the store.
The refurbishment, which represents a multimillion-pound investment, is expected to take between 9 to 12 months to complete. Once finished, Leekes Llantrisant will boast a host of new and improved features.
“We’re thrilled to be entering this final phase of our refurbishment journey,” says Peter Martin, Group HR and Store Operations Director. “This project represents our commitment to offering a first-class shopping experience, combining style, practicality, and innovation across every department.”
Leekes has also reported significant sales growth for the final quarter of 2024. From October to December, company-wide sales saw double digit growth driven by strong performances in key categories, including a 14% rise in furniture and accessories and a 7% growth in its home improvements and installations categories including fitted kitchens, bedrooms, bathrooms, and flooring.
Store and online performance Leekes saw growth across its store network, with the greatest growth being delivered by its newly refurbished Llantrisant store. Its Bilston store in the west Midlands, which formerly traded as Coles and celebrates its 15th anniversary as part of the Leekes group, has also posted strong results fuelled by excellent kitchen and bathroom sales following additional investment in these studios in the last few months.
The Leekes online store saw sales climb by 57% in the final quarter as the business successfully leverages the investment it has made in re-platforming the site increasing the product categories and improving the functionality. The Winter Sale, which began on Boxing Day, has had a fantastic start, with sales increasing by 20% across the group with their Melksham store delivering both the greatest levels and the largest year on year increase with sales up by a third.
Also of note is the performance of Leekes newest store which opened in Cheltenham on November 14th. Significantly exceeding expectations in the first 6 weeks of trading, the new store has started the sale strongly with customers enjoying the comprehensive furniture & kitchen offer as well as the inspirational collection of finishing touches.
“We’re delighted by our strong Q4 performance and the incredible start to our Winter Sale which seems to be bucking the trend,” said Emma Leeke, Managing Director of Leekes Retail. “Our retail team’s hard work and dedication have enabled us to deliver exceptional growth across all channels, and we are particularly excited by the contribution of our new Cheltenham store. We look forward to sustaining this momentum through the Winter Sale period and into the Spring.”
