So many people have asked us if we are closing the shop (previously English Imports, now Corfu Homestore) that it seemed a good idea to put the record straight.
Yes, the shop is for sale. We have been working for nearly 15 years now, beginning with children's clothing and duvets, covers, sheets and Christmas stuff, in a tiny shop in Guilford Street, and then moving into our current larger premises near Bank of Cyprus, just off San Rocco Square. After the move we expanded into ladies' clothing, essential foodstuffs, gifts, home accessories, china - in fact as people said, 'Why dont you bring so and so?", we went and looked for it, and brought it.
Over the years we have spent hours on the road in England searching out warehouses that did 'stock' designer goods (many many years before all the so called 'designer stock' shops now so prevalent here) so much so that we are now extremely familiar with warehouses and factories from Swindon to Bolton via Leicester and goodness knows where else! We spent what seems like days stuck in traffic jams in Stoke-on-Trent on our way to vast china warehouses, where we had to wear gloves and scarves to root through all their china bargains as it was so cold - and dusty!
We must have stayed in practically every Travelodge/Travel Inn/Holiday Inn Express in the north of England as well as a few 'time warp' gems on our way either north or south. (We have particularly fond memories of the Station Hotel at Stoke-on-Trent, which for some reason had a huge carefully cut out hole in the bathroom window, making bathing an invigorating experience!) What a joy it was when we found a super bargain in a really nice hotel, at the end of a 14 hour day.
However, a few years ago our other businesses - Corfuhomefinders and Corfu Premier Property started to take up more of our time. Whilst the shop and the estate agencies do in many ways complement each other, they both need time and attention and, regretfully, there are not enough hours in the day!
After much discussion, we have decided to sell the shop. We have had many years of what has actually been a great experience, and if we had not got so involved with the property business we would probably have carried on for ever, but the estate agency is threatening to take over, and something has to go, so reluctantly we have put the shop business on the market.
We see it as a brilliant opportunity for someone who is looking for a complete lifestyle change and wants to set up business here, but also wants to maintain ties with the UK. Over the years we have had enormous fun travelling back to the UK several times each year and arranging transport for our personally chosen stock back to Corfu. The business is completely flexible (a new owner could sell almost anything they choose) as we have a background of contacts and suppliers from practically every field of retail, and even a UK Limited Company of our own through which we do the buying in Britain. Now is the ideal time for buying goods in the UK with the near parity of pound and euro, and the drop in oil prices has meant that transport costs have fallen back to a reasonable level.
Although we have always been located in Corfu Town, and would be prepared to vacate the present premises which we rent, the potential retail areas have expanded vastly over the last few years and a new owner really could choose where they wanted to be based - anywhere on the island. We can give loads of advice on location and help both in the UK and Corfu until you get started. There are also two part-time members of staff who could stay on if necessary to give a new owner some time to get used to the business.
If anyone would like more information just email us on info@corfupremierproperty.com.
Susan
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