A COUNTDOWN from ten, a cut ribbon and subsequent cheers marked the anticipated opening of a popular discount retailer in Ringwood.

The Works began trading bang on 9am on Thursday, March 16, at the former McColl’s and Post Office site in Southampton Road, which had been empty since August 2020.

Residents passing the store all stopped to watch as members of staff – including one wearing a dinosaur costume – cut a The Works-themed ribbon to open the new branch.

Living up to its name, the store sells an array of items including books, arts and crafts materials, games, toys, stationery, party merchandise, and home accessories.

Among the first to enter the shop was Ringwood mum Chelsey Comer, who felt The Works would fit well within the market town. “I just think it’s great,” she said.

“The town needed something like this. It makes a change from the normal charity shops and coffee shops.”

Fellow shopper Alison added: “There’s just so much variety of stuff, you’ve got your toys but you’ve got your stationery as well which I need a lot of. Plus, it’s good value. It’s definitely an asset.”

Bournemouth Echo: The Works opens new store in Ringwood on Thursday, March 16, 2023.The Works opens new store in Ringwood on Thursday, March 16, 2023. (Image: Newsquest)

Customers also noted the store would help fill the void left by WHSmith, which closed its long-time store in the town’s High Street following a lease expiring and unviable trading.

Jeremy Smith, property director for The Works, told the Echo: “We’ve been looking to open in this town for a while and it has taken us a long time to open because we wanted to get it just right, but we are delighted to be here now.

“We find it’s always good to serve the local population. People can travel to our other stores but the more we have the better it is. Obviously we’re at Christchurch and Bournemouth but Ringwood is a place in itself so it makes sense.

Bournemouth Echo: The Works opens new store in Ringwood on Thursday, March 16, 2023.The Works opens new store in Ringwood on Thursday, March 16, 2023. (Image: Newsquest)

“There are different retailers who sell bits of what we do, but we like to think we do it all.

“Ringwood is a fantastic town and it’s somewhere we’re pleased to bring The Works to.”

The new branch adds to the more than 520 stores nationwide and will create around ten new jobs, extending during the busy Christmas period.