A new shop has opened in a Suffolk seaside town selling a range of goods, including fashion, accessories, jewellery, fragrance, homeware and gifts.
Chris Booth has opened Collated in Aldeburgh High Street with his wife Carrie, which joins two existing stores the couple run in Framlingham.
Having trained at the retailer Harrods, Mr Booth worked in recruitment for 16 years in London before moving to Aldeburgh in 2013 as a lifestyle choice.
Initially, they opened at the old Guildhall in Framlingham in July 2018 before opening another shop five doors down in Market Hill in October after enjoying success.
He attributed this to tourists visiting historic Framlingham Castle nearby and the effect of pop star Ed Sheeran living in the town.
On Thursday, they opened in Aldeburgh and Mr Booth explained he had always wanted to open a new outlet in the town, but no suitable premises were available.
He said when the country was not in lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic, people shopped and they were also able to benefit from the increase in UK tourism.
He wanted to focus on "quality and a good range of prices" adding that the fashion side of the business had been "very successful".
He added: “It has been quieter recently since the Ukraine war started and after a very busy year last year as people holidayed more in UK, but people like what we do and we are still doing enough to expand by two shops in nine months.
“We are going to take a breather now and just focus on making sure they all perform well and people have a great experience with us.
“Ultimately, we are very grateful to be growing in such a difficult market when others have struggled.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here