Paul and Karen Stephenson open new Nisa shop in Barrow

Paul Stephenson has been running a string of stores with his wife Karen for more than 20 years, including a number of Bargain Booze shops in Furness.

Now the couple have a opened a new Nisa Local store in Oxford Street, Barrow, in the place of the Co-op which closed last year.

The modern convenience store, which swung open its doors on September 26, is the first Nisa to open in Barrow.

More than 1,000 new independently-owned outlets have joined Nisa in less than two years, with 624 joining in 2000 and a further 401 in the 35 weeks to September.

Bosses behind Nisa said the boom in retailers looking to invest in their stores was in response to increased shopper demand.

The newly launched sites include 14 former Co-ops, as well as existing Nisa retailers who were looking to upgrade their stores.

The group continues to report soaring store numbers with 401 new sites signed up this year. This follows the record-breaking year in 2020 in which 624 stores joined the business.

Earlier this year, Nisa announced it was investing £2m into cutting wholesale prices for retailers across both branded products and the Co-op own-label range. The aim was to keep retailers competitive and support sales margins.

Nisa also announced in March it was investing £7.5m into its logistics and delivery network.

Nisa sales director Steve Leach said: "Following a record year for recruitment in 2020, we are pleased to be continuing this momentum this year with 401 new partner stores on board.

“The sustained growth in new partners and stores is testament not only to the brilliant team at Nisa, who have gone above and beyond during the past 18 months in continually challenging circumstances, but to the strength of Nisa’s proposition for independent retailers.

“This is where we strike the balance between recruitment and the support of existing partners, through our fresh thinking approach to partner support, competitive pricing and an unrivalled own-brand range.”