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QD Commercial Group Holdings Limited
Company typePrivate limited company
IndustryRetail
Founded1985; 39 years ago (1985); Norwich, United Kingdom[1]
Headquarters
Nottingham[2]
,
United Kingdom
Number of locations
30 (2022)
Products
OwnerDanny Rubins
David Rubins
Websitewww.qdstores.co.uk

QD Commercial Group Holdings Limited, trading as QD Stores is an independently owned discount retailer operating in the United Kingdom, primarily in East Anglia and the East Midlands regions.[3] Products stocked include a mixture of items for the home and garden, basic groceries and a range of clothing and footwear. The company also run Cherry Lane Garden Centres.

History

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Store in North Walsham

The first QD Stores branch was opened in Norwich in 1985,[1] with the initials QD standing for quality discounts.[4]

During the 1990s QD Stores purchased the small department store Lathams of Potter Heigham, which it still operates under the original name. It also established Cherry Lane Garden Centres in 2001,[5] which by 2008 had become the eighth biggest UK gardening centre group.[6]

The number of QD Stores locations has grown relatively slowly since 1985. Notable changes to the store estate include the opening of eight new stores in former Woolworths locations following that company's closure in 2009.[7] However the group completed the closure of their flagship store in St Stephens Street, Norwich in late 2012.[8]

In 2010, the company opened its first store outside England in Wrexham, north Wales. Housed in a former Marks & Spencer branch, the store traded for ten years before declining local trade led to closure plans being announced in 2020.[9][10] In 2011, the company moved its headquarters from Anglia Square in Norwich to the former Norfolk Chamber of Commerce site on the corner of Barrack Street and Silver Road.[11]

The company added 11 more shops to their portfolio through the purchase of fellow East Anglian discounter Thingmebobs in early 2013.[12] These stores retained their separate identity and a new parent company, QD Commercial Group Holdings, was set up[13] to operate the various related companies. The Thingmebobs Stores were re-branded under QD in 2022.[14]

QD Stores established an e-commerce site selling goods online during 2014 and followed this with the introduction of a 'click and collect' service the following year.[15]

The Cherry Lane Garden Centre group was continued to grow with the purchase of Retford & Gainsborough Garden Centre in Nottinghamshire in February 2022, their 16th garden centre across East Anglia, East Midlands and Yorkshire.[16] The company announced in April 2022 that it would be joining fellow discounters Poundland and Home Bargains in offering a frozen food section.[17] In August 2022, QD opened their 30th store in Maldon, Essex.[18]

References

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  1. ^ a b "QD Stores".
  2. ^ "QD Commercial Group Holdings".
  3. ^ "Store Finder". QD Stores. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
  4. ^ "QD Stores Ltd - Bloomberg". Bloomberg News. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
  5. ^ "Cherry Lane Garden Centres celebrates 21 years". Nottingham Local News. 13 June 2022.
  6. ^ "QD Stores moves to eighth biggest garden centre group with 11th garden centre purchase". Retrieved 20 November 2018.
  7. ^ Wallop, Harry (19 January 2012). "What happened to all the Woolworths shops?". The Telegraph. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
  8. ^ "Bosses at QD admit flagship Norwich store will not be re-opening". Eastern Daily Press. 24 March 2014. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
  9. ^ "Brand New QD Store to Open in Wrexham". QD Stores. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
  10. ^ "QD announces it will close Wrexham store". Wrexham.com. 9 March 2020. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
  11. ^ "Norwich-based QD Stores moving HQ". Norwich Evening News. 25 August 2011.
  12. ^ "QD Stores buys Thingmebobs discount shop chain". BBC News. 9 January 2013. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
  13. ^ "QD Commercial Group Holdings - Company Check". Retrieved 1 June 2015.
  14. ^ "QD Stores confirm closure of March Broad Street shop". Cambs Times. 23 March 2023.
  15. ^ "Discount chain QD's chief outlines hopes for new Norwich store and expansion plan". Eastern Daily Press. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
  16. ^ "CHERRY LANE ACQUIRES 16TH GARDEN CENTRE". Garden Centre Retail. 17 May 2022.
  17. ^ "Quality Discounts planning to add frozen food range to stores". The Grocer. 29 April 2022.
  18. ^ "Family-run discount chain opens its 30th store". East Anglian Daily Times. 30 August 2022.
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