Malcolm Walker, the head of frozen food chain Iceland, has opened the company’s 800th store, announcing a positive outlook on the state of UK retail.
In a week which saw the former CEO of Iceland, Bill Grimsey release a report to counter the Portas Review into the country’s high streets, Mr Walker sounded a more positive note: “When my colleagues and I returned to rescue a grossly mismanaged business in 2005, we initially closed or sold a number of stores. However, over the last four years we have opened a total of 145 net new Iceland stores around the UK, creating more than 4,000 new jobs, and we are on track to exceed our target of adding a further 40 new stores in our current financial year.
“At a time when certain individuals are pontificating on the grim future of the high street, perhaps reflecting their own track record of failure in this arena, it is worth pointing out that the majority of our new store openings are in high street locations, and are generating good sales and returns on our investment.”
