Tozers new owner says 'thank you'

Monday 19 November 2018

The budding young businessman who has taken over Tozers said it is going well so far, with lots of support from loyal existing and new customers.

It was feared the traditional newsagents on the Bridge was going to have to close, if the previous owners couldn't find someone to take on the shop.

They had already agreed a deal to sell on the newspaper distribution arm of their business but it looked like the Tozers shop might shut for good if no-one came forward.

Pictured: The previous owners had warned the shop would close if a buyer couldn't be found, as reported by Express here. 

Scott Cockburn heard about the business opportunity and agreed a deal to take over the shop in September. He closed it almost as soon as he took it on though, spending the whole of October giving the shop premises a revamp.

Having reopened with a new look, and a number of new lines, earlier this month, Mr Cockburn said everything is going very well so far.

Pictured: Magazines remain the mainstay of Tozer's retail offering, but the shop has increased its other lines too. 

Mr Cockburn has a number of years experience working in a similar retail environment and he's employed a manager with similar experience, as well as a number of other part time staff.

He said footfall through the door so far has been good and they're getting very positive customer feedback.

"99.9% have said something good, almost every second customer through the door will make a comment about 'we didn't realise you're open again', 'we're glad you're still open', 'I like what you've done with the place'...so it really has been very positive. It's made all the hard work worthwhile.

"Without the support of customers, who have been loyal and have come back to us, that's what's going to keep us going in the future, so we're trying to do our best to please them. We're asking what they want to see in the store, if we're missing anything, what else can we do and we're actively trying to make the staff have those conversations with customers so we can try and meet the needs they've always used the store for, and will hopefully use the store in the future."

The shop itself has been refurbished, with Mr Cockburn saying customers have said they like the new look. The new opening hours are better for some people too, with Tozers now open 07:00-18:00 seven days a week.

Pictured top: The new management team at Tozers newsagents.