The respective grocery and textiles managers in Dunnes newly revamped store in Enniskillen, Stephen Clawson and Pat McNiffe are happy men. They have just realised the completion of a million pounds revamp that has been ongoing for the past eight months and has now placed the store in a position to take on all comers.
'Your new improved Dunnes Stores, Enniskillen' is how the flyer is headed and, the brochure goes on to highlight a number of those enhanced areas, including checkouts, car parking, the in-store Reflect Café, fitting rooms, customer toilets and an in-store ATM machine.
Extra to that list is the presence of the Savida range of fashions for adults which, Mr McNiffe, a Dunnes employee with 28 years on the clock explained, was exclusive to only a handful of stores in the North.
"It started down south and is now a very recognised brand. It took off three years ago and it's grown since. As well as a modern range of fashions, we do Savida jewellery, bags and shoes".
Stephen Clawson, who has been 19 years with Dunnes (seven years in Enniskillen before going to Omagh and returning) was equally happy to refer to three locally produced items in his grocery end, O'Doherty's bacon, Flynn's cooked meats and Tickety Moo ice-cream.
He then spoke generally about the revamp. "Some of the stockrooms have been taken away and that allowed us to extend within the store. For instance, the capacity of the food store has been increased significantly, and that let us develop an off licence.
"In fact, we are carrying 350 varieties of wine which, over the next two weeks, will be offering a 25 per cent discount".
Pat alluded to the greater range of indoor and outdoor furniture, the latter retailing their biggest seller, the 1.5 Oxford Range wth a Lazy Susie in the middle, and slanting umbrellas which hang over the table instead of in the centre, giving more room.
The extra in store space has resulted in a bigger range of electrical goods, all from established brand stables, central to which is a Fujitsu Siemens laptop at only £299.
This is but one of many special offers, from textiles to to grocery, to mark the largest redevelopment of the store since it opened in September, 1994.
Pat McNiffe, for instance, referred to the 'Buy One Get Second At Half Price' in vests and T-shirts, and he suggested that, now, Dunnes is really a one-stop shop.
"Take the car park alone: we took away the shrubbery so as to provide extra spaces and all the obstacles at the front entrance doors and gave it an eco-friendly feel".
The store now opens half an hour earlier, at 8.30 to accommodate people coming into work in the morning, and closes at 8pm on Monday and Tuesday, at 9 o'clock on Wednesday and 10 o'clock on Thursday and Friday. Saturday hours are from 9am-7pm, and Sunday from 1pm-6pm.
Stephen Clawson reckons that Dunnes Stores is now one of the strongest retailers in town.
"We have 50,000 square feet of retailing space, which makes us the biggest retailer in town, and we feel we have the best mix of textiles, food and ground-floor restaurant which has been totally revamped. For instance, it carries a pizza oven and, to mark that, we have an ongoing , Buy a 10' pizza and get a second free'.
As for Pat McNiffe,he rates Enniskillen highly as a shopping town: "It's a great town, a great big town. It has lots going on and it's a rich town culturally. For instance, we get a big influx of shoppers from my own county, Leitrim, from Cavan and Donegal and, also, people coming out fo Belfast on holiday".
