A COMPANY providing easy payment terms for people to buy electrical items has unveiled plans for new stores across Yorkshire – including one in Brighouse.
BrightHouse, which already has a store at New Street in Huddersfield, plans to open 19 new outlets across the region after reporting record profits, revenues and customer numbers during the past 12 months.
The company is looking at potential sites in market towns rather than major cities in its latest expansion programme – including Brighouse, Pontefract, Selby, York, Morley, Goole, Skipton, Rothwell and Mexborough.
It already has stores in Sheffield, Bradford, Hull, Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham, Castleford and Keighley.
BrightHouse customer numbers went up from 125,300 to 140,000 during 2008 and it increased the number of branches from 153 to 178. It hopes to hit the 500,000 customer mark in the next few years.
BrightHouse, led by chief executive Leo McKee and employing 1,900 staff, is a national chain which specialises in selling home electronic and domestic appliances and household furniture on an affordable weekly payments basis.
BrightHouse last month reported a 15.6% rise in operating profits to £9.6m for the six months to September 30, 2008. Like-for-like sales soared by 13.6% as turnover increased by 16% to £81.8m.
Mr McKee said: “Core to this strong set of results is the group’s resilience to fluctuations in consumer spending cycles. Despite the “credit crunch” environment the board looks to the future with confidence.”
