It is refreshing to see some positive news on successful trading in Ireland when there is so much doom and gloom around. One company that looks to be bucking the trend is Cost Plus Sofas, which now has 20 megastores Ireland-wide from Dublin to Cork and from Sligo to Waterford, including the official opening of two new stores this weekend at Castlebar and at Tullamore. Another couple of stores are scheduled to open within the next two to three months. Every new store also provides useful new job opportunities to the local community.
Cost Plus Sofas offers designer sofas at discount prices at levels well below what one would expect, so customers are talking to each other and are reporting that their prices are generally 30 per cent to 50 per cent lower than anywhere else. As a result Cost Plus Sofas is growing strongly as a company and it has already become Ireland’s number one sofa retailer. In these challenging times, the owners believe that only those companies offering exceptional value to their customers will survive (as evidenced by other discount retailers such as Penney’s and TKMaxx in clothes, and Aldi and Lidl in food, all of which apparently continue to trade well in Ireland even at this time ).
One of the main differentiators from their competitors is the speed of delivery they can offer on their top selling lines with backing stocks for immediate delivery from their central warehouses. They are currently delivering around 80 per cent of all orders within 14 days and a majority of those within seven days or less. They currently have around €5 million of stock for immediate delivery. All their products are purchased direct from top international manufacturers and this direct buying enables them to cut out the middlemen and pass on these savings to customers in the form of much lower prices.
The next big step forward for the Cost Plus Group (as well as continuing to develop and further improve its sofa offer with exciting new products and package deals ) is to become the clear market leader in beds too. Its sister company, Beds Etc, has taken large areas in every Cost Plus Sofas megastore and the aim is to be 50 per cent cheaper than any competitor (for instance a luxurious Memory Foam divan set for only €399, when similar high specification beds are on sale elsewhere for more than €1,000 ) and to provide immediate delivery from stock on all top sellers. Major international and Irish brands are included in the wide range of bedding products, including single and double divan sets, bedsteads, mattresses, bunk beds, headboards, pillows, etc.
Be assured that if you visit any Cost Plus Sofas store you will receive a warm friendly welcome, a cup of coffee, and the chance to look around with no obligation to purchase. The new 10,000sq ft megastore at Castlebar is on the Castlebar Retail Park near Woodies, Halfords, Harvey Norman, Toymaster, etc. Simon and his new team at Castlebar will be delighted to show you around the newly refurbished and extended store and mezzanine, incorporating room settings to demonstrate the look in your home. There will be a free draw for a new sofa for all visitors to the store with no need to buy anything. Seeing is believing, so what are you waiting for?
