PERSONAL TRAINER HELPS DOORMEN PREPARE FOR 4.8 TONS OF JANUARY SALE DOOR SWINGING

HOUSING UNITS

PRESS RELEASE

January 3, 2012.

PERSONAL TRAINER HELPS DOORMEN PREPARE FOR 4.8 TONS OF JANUARY SALE DOOR SWINGING.

A north Manchester furnishings and gifts store has brought in a personal trainer to help its top-hatted doormen get to grips with the demands of winter shopping customer stampedes.

Frank Hodgson and Peter Brooks will hold doors open for Housing Units customers as often as 5,463 times a day each during peak Christmas and January sales shopping days - 364 times an hour, once every six seconds, assuming an average party size of two people entering and leaving the store – but will be even busier during the winter sale.

Now Housing Units’ personnel team has brought in personal trainer Kate Wright from Oldham gym Heavenly Bodies to coach the doormen in the best way to avoid injury or muscle damage from their exertions, which, assuming average push or pull of a door being the equivalent to lifting 20lbs, means around 4.8 tons of door being moved each working day at peak time.

“Customers enjoy the door-opening experience, so will often hang back a little to get their own exclusive service, with some even taking photos. This is an enjoyable experience all round, but, of course, during peak hours can mean there’s a massive amount of door swinging – and that means flexing muscles that don’t normally get flexed so frequently,” said Nick Fox of Housing Units.

“With the perfect storm of peak customer traffic, both doormen deployed, movement both in and out of the store involving people with shopping and buggies, plus requests for directions, it could quickly descend into chaos if the doormen start flagging.

“Footfall is on average 25,500 a week during the run up to Christmas, but while that equates to an average of 1,821 door openings a day, twice a minute for each doorman, at peak times door opening rate can be three times as high. working day.

“But customer traffic during the sales can be even higher, so we need to ensure the doormen are in peak condition”.

Housing Units - known for its top-hatted doormen - was established in 1947.

It is a family-owned furnishings retailer based in Wickentree Lane, Failsworth, Manchester M35 9BA, next to Junction 22 of the M60. It stocks 30,000 high-quality lines across a range of departments in two buildings and a crescent of specialist shops, and prides itself on its unique style of customer service, the value of its goods and the shopping experience it provides.

Ends

Further information:

Iain Macauley

0161 929 0446/07788 978800

im@pressrelations.co.uk

www.housingunits.co.uk

HOUSING UNITS ADDS ANOTHER TROPHY TO ITS RANGE OF CABINETS

HOUSING UNITS

PRESS RELEASE

October 20, 2011.

HOUSING UNITS ADDS ANOTHER TROPHY TO ITS RANGE OF CABINETS.

Photo available.

When the going gets tough, the tough win awards - and north Manchester-based home furnishings store Housing Units has added another trophy to its wide range of cabinets.

Housing Units has won the "Best department store" title in the Progressive Housewares magazine "Excellence in housewares" category after beating off competition almost entirely from affluent south-east England department stores.

"It costs nothing to go that extra inch in driving customer service standards, listening hard to what our customers want, moving heaven and earth to deliver the right sorts of promotions and events, and simply looking and feeling like a place where shoppers feel at home. But it costs a lot if you don't," said Nick Fox, director of Housing Units.

"The competition was tough - and the other nominees were very, very good - but we give our all day-in, day-out, and it pays off not just for us, but for our customers too.

"But it's a spiral: put in the effort, get the custom; get the custom, win the award, feel good, make the customer feel good - get the custom. And this is all massively down to the Housing Units staff -  we're certainly a family business, and when things get tough, we all feel the pain but we all then pull together; and the result is that we all win together".

The criteria for the award was: "Should be an individual department store or a specific branch of a department store chain. With excellence in areas across the retail spectrum including product range, staff training, customer care, marketing and promotion, window and product display and also have improvement achievement in improving sales, profitability and/or footfall over the last year."

"And with somebody else influential and expert saying something about us - it's a great accolade to hear," said Nick Fox.

Housing Units - known for its top-hatted doormen - was established in 1947.

It is a family-owned furnishings retailer based in Wickentree Lane, Failsworth, Manchester M35 9BA, next to Junction 22 of the M60. It stocks 30,000 high-quality lines across a range of departments in two buildings and a crescent of specialist shops, and prides itself on its unique style of customer service, the value of its goods and the shopping experience it provides.

Ends

Further information:

Iain Macauley

0161 929 0446/07788 978800

im@pressrelations.co.uk

www.housingunits.co.uk

HOUSING UNITS’ EMPLOYEE OF A LIFETIME

HOUSING UNITS

PRESS RELEASE

July 27, 2011.

HOUSING UNITS’ EMPLOYEE OF A LIFETIME.

Marcus Huntington may have been awarded Employee of the Month for sales support at home furnishings store Housing Units, but for one man he was the employee of a lifetime – literally.

For Marcus is a qualified First Aider at Housing Units, but it was those skills – gained under training with the north Manchester-based store – that helped save the life of a man who collapsed in a shopping centre near his home in Middleton.

“I was out shopping, saw and heard a commotion, saw a little old lady trying to carry out CPR, so just stepped in and, assisted by a security guard, did what I’ve been trained to do,” said Marcus, who is a member of St John’s Ambulance.

“The shopping centre had a defibrillator – which I’m trained to use – and I managed to keep the man going until the paramedics arrived. It was a surreal experience, but it just demonstrates that not only have you only a few minutes to save somebody’s life, but the benefit of First Aid training can make a massive difference.”

Nick Fox, director of Housing Units, said: “While his support for colleagues and customers alike meant he received a lot of nominations from colleagues for the Employee of the Month award, it’s his quiet calm and life-saving skills that make Marcus truly exceptional as a person, not just an employee.”

Marcus has been with Housing Units for seven years. His St John Ambulance duties include everything from tending to injuries amongst the crowd at Premier League football matches, through to being on watch at local events such as fetes and parades.

Marcus was awarded store vouchers as part of his Employee of the Month recognition, but he has passed them on to his wife, Carol, who he considers much better able to make the best of them.

Housing Units – known for its top-hatted doormen - was established in 1947. It is a family-owned furnishings retailer based in Wickentree Lane, Failsworth, Manchester M35 9BA, next to Junction 22 of the M60. It stocks 30,000 high-quality lines across a range of departments in two buildings and a crescent of specialist shops, and prides itself on its unique style of customer service, the value of its goods and the shopping experience it provides.

Ends

Further information:

Iain Macauley

0161 929 0446/07788 978800

im@pressrelations.co.uk

www.housingunits.co.uk

HOUSING UNITS GETS GREATS NEWS: “IT’S THE BEST” - CRAIN'S

http://www.crainsmanchesterbusiness.co.uk/article/20100524/FREE/100529959

HOUSING UNITS GETS GREATS NEWS: “IT’S THE BEST”.

HOUSING UNITS

PRESS RELEASE

May 24, 2010.

HOUSING UNITS GETS GREATS NEWS: “IT’S THE BEST”.

Housing Units has been named one of the top department stores in the country in the retail industry equivalent of the Oscars.

The Failsworth, north Manchester, store won the award for best department store retailer of gifts in The Greats Gift Retailer of the Year Awards 2010 which took place at London’s Royal Lancaster Hotel on May 20.

The other finalists included last year’s winner, John Lewis of Oxford Street.

The award is open to independent department stores, or individual outlets of bigger chains, and notes product range, product knowledge, staff training, customer care, promotion and display.

“This is a jaw-dropping achievement, and incredible reward for the staff and management who live, eat and breathe Housing Units, and who are passionate about making a difference,” said Stuart Fox, Retail Operations Director of Housing Units, who collected the award.

“That we are competing against some of the greatest stores in the land is tribute to all concerned at Housing Units.

“We know our customers well, we know what they like, and many of them are like loyal friends as well as supporters.”

Housing Units – known for its top-hatted doormen - was established in 1947. It is a family-owned furnishings retailer based in Wickentree Lane, Failsworth, Manchester M35 9BA, next to Junction 22 of the M60. It stocks 30,000 high-quality lines across a range of departments in two buildings and a crescent of specialist shops, and prides itself on its unique style of customer service, the value of its goods and the shopping experience it provides.

Ends

Further information:

Iain Macauley

0161 929 0446/07788 978800

im@pressrelations.co.uk

www.housingunits.co.uk

Housing Units and other photos at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pressrelations