Superdrug staff ‘buzzing’ to welcome customers on opening day
Staff at the Street’s newest store say they are “buzzing” to be welcoming customers for the first time today.
Superdrug’s much anticipated opening follows months of speculation and a £175,000 transformation of the former M&Co building.
Store manager Leanne Kyle praised her new team for their hard work getting ready for the big day.
Speaking to The Shetland Times on Wednesday, when all but the finishing touches had been taken care of, she said: “It felt so strange walking in here today, compared to when we first arrived, because it was just empty shelves.
“Now we are fully ready, other than a few tweaks here and there, and it’s just amazing.
“I think it will be so good and everyone is really excited about it.”
Plans for the new store were first submitted in May – but the real transformation has only taken shape in the last couple of weeks.
Miss Kyle, 23, said her colleagues had been pulling 11-hour shifts to get the shop looking perfect and five managers from the mainland had been brought up to help.
“If you look at our team, you’d think they’d been working together for years, because everyone has gelled so well,” she said.
“Everyone has been getting stuck in, so it’s all gone so smoothly.”
While it is the first time the staff have worked together as Superdrug employees, four team members were former colleagues at M&Co.
Miss Kyle was manager there and worked with Beverley Paton, who is team leader, as well as mother and daughter Louise and Caitlin Kok, who are team leader and sales adviser, respectively.
Having been deeply saddened by M&Co’s closure, the former colleagues are thrilled to be back together in the same building.
“It was an awful experience that we all went through when it closed,” Miss Kyle said.
“The last memory I had of this building was shutting it down.
“So it’s really nice to come back here and to be opening it up again, making it look amazing.
“The staff went through a really hard time, with all the changing policies and the abuse we had to deal with and just the sadness of not working together anymore, because we were a really close team.
“So it’s so great to be coming back here with a happy memory.”
Another M&Co regular, who has already been checking out the store, is Tommy the Cat, who somehow managed to sneak his way in before the opening for a quick inspection.
“He came in the other day and went straight downstairs,” Miss Kyle said.
“He seemed a bit upset that his bed was gone but he had a good nosey around and seemed very impressed.
“We’ll get him a bag of treats and then we will be his favourites again.
“We’ve also ordered him a Superdrug bandana, with permission from his owners, so we are going to give him that as well.”
Miss Kyle said the reception from other shoppers had also been “really positive”.
“Everyone has been so lovely,” she said.
“All the people I’ve spoken to seem so excited and they think it’s going to be a great addition to the Street and are so happy it’s not just another empty building.”
With the opening coinciding with Black Friday and the countdown to Christmas, Miss Kyle is expecting it to be a busy period for her team.
She believes the retailer’s extensive range of high end fragrance will be among the biggest draws, as well as makeup.
“In terms of the brands, the variety is amazing and I think it will sell really well,” she said.
“We’re also really lucky to have a shop of this size.”
Despite the long hours and hard work, Miss Kyle said her team was “so excited” to be finally opening.
“We just can’t wait for all the customers to come in and see it,” she said.
“It will be good to see everyone back in again and the buzz will be amazing.”
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