Compton Care superstore opens in Wolverhampton city centre

Queues formed as Compton Care unveiled its new store on the former Wilko unit at St George's Parade.

The 10,000 sq ft store – the hospice's biggest shop to date – marks the charity's return to the city after leaving last year.

It comes after bosses at Compton Care revealed it was facing a £2.4 million funding shortfall due to the impact of Covid-19.

Retail area manager Aaron Smith said: "Our incredible retail team have been working extremely throughout Covid19 to get the store ready for the launch and we are so excited to have officially opened its doors and be back in Wolverhampton city centre.

"Retail Plus is our flagship store encompassing the very best of Compton Care retail under one roof. It will offer a range of high-quality clothing, furniture, books and vinyl plus much much more.

"The store also features our Compton Coffee Shop where shoppers can take a break and have a cuppa and a cake after a hard day’s bargain hunting.

"What really makes this store so unique is that it will also offer a dedicated space to host a range of our community engagement initiatives, as well as the opportunity for clinical staff to meet patients out in the community."

The new store features fashion, furniture, electricals, a dedicated kids department and a range of new giftware called ‘gifts that do good’ – along with a cafe.

It was opened on Thursday by Compton Care trustee Jim McKinnon, Punjab Wolves representative Paz Heer and his three-year-old son Aaryan Heer.

The charity left the city centre in March last year after vacating their Garrick Street store to make way for the city's Learning Quarter.

And now the hospice is asking people to come forward to volunteer and to donate pre-loved items to help stock the store to raise funds.

Mr Smith added: "Lockdown has offered the perfect opportunity to have a sort out, so we’re asking people to donate those items to help stock our new store.

"Not only do we want to create a space filled with a variety of products for shoppers we also want to raise as much money as possible to help fund specialist care for local people living with incurable illnesses.

"Our stores are a vital source of income raising over £1 million every year towards providing essential patient care. We’re also recruiting for a number of volunteers to join us and help out in store.

"Volunteering is a brilliant way to meet new people and learn new skills. We have a range of different roles available so why not apply today and join the Compton family?"

For more information about the new store and how you can volunteer call 0300 323 0250 or visit comptoncare.org.uk