Investment for retailer

THE Yorkshire Linen Co is to add to its presence in Europe by opening a store in Portugal.

The retailer is making the move after having invested more than £300,000 in refurbishing three of its high street stores over the last 12 months.

The Yorkshire Linen Co, which has more than 40 stores and employs more than 300 members of staff, has ploughed the money into its Harrogate, Leeds and Hartlepool stores.

Over the last four years the company has invested more than £750,000 on upgrading and updating eight stores, across its growing retail estate.

The Yorkshire Linen Co is opening an outlet in the Portuguese resort of Albufeira, adding to the eight stores already in both that country and Spain.
 
The company was established in 1993 by Ross and Kirsteen Leventhal. It also owns the Darley Mill Centre, on the outskirts of Harrogate near Menwith Hill, which it purchased in 2009.

Since then more than £250,000 has been spent upgrading the 17th century mill building and restoring the water wheel.

Mr Leventhal said: “This continued investment in our stores is our commitment to supporting the UK’s high street.

“Shops up and down the country are having a very tough time. We have not been immune to the extremely challenging trading conditions, and we have had to realign our product offer and merchandising methods to compete.

“However, by listening to our customers, we know exactly what they want in terms of stock on the shelves, plus the environment they prefer to shop in.

“We are now on a much firmer footing and in a much stronger position to cope with the current economic climate.”