LATEST NEWS

We all know Christmas is expensive, but it's cost one north Manchester store owner thousands of pounds already - as Santa arrived by cab.... from New York.

Cheques are on their way out in 2012 so far as north Manchester-based interiors, furniture and gifts store Housing Units is concerned – but they’re definitely in for the Royal Oldham Hospital’s In Your Hands Appeal.

The 3-to-1 interior design style bets are on rustic being back for autumn 2012 – with the comforting feel of lived-in bare wood and distressed paint a crucial factor in feelgood as the days shorten and the economy remains dark.

North Manchester-based Housing Units has completed the second phase of its £1 million 2012 development and expansion programme, introducing both more sales floor space and new offices without breaching current boundaries.

Housing Units’ early 2012 Christmas department opening is paying off for both the store and its customers, with September sales up 46% on the same period in 2011.

A leading independent retailer is calling for two new Bank Holidays to be introduced to the autumn calendar saying that they could have as much impact on the economy as a VAT cut.

What was once a £30,000-a-year cost for independent furnishings and interiors store Housing Units is on the verge of being turned into a small but unlikely profit.

Competitors in Housing Units’ tenth annual charity golf day thought they’d turned up in the wrong place on the wrong day – for the first time in five years there wasn’t record rainfall.