Turnover has shot up 43% at family-run North Wales retailer Ruthin Décor ever since it turned its back on its former out-of-town location and returned to the high street.
Now trading from Ruthin town centre, the retailer has noticed increased footfall in store as well as benefitting from free parking and high visibility. Said director Nick Birch: "We're proof that the high street is not dead. Moving to this location is the best decision we ever made."

Ruthin Décor offers customers a wide range of home improvement goods, with more than 100 tile displays, 200 lights, 200 wallpapers and more than 10,000 tins of paint.

Finding a shop with customer parking was a must when Mr Birch was making the decision to re-locate to the town. "Customers in DIY stores need to transport heavy tins of paint or tiles home easily," he explained, adding: "One lady on holiday from Yorkshire phoned her next door neighbour and asked him to measure his living room so she could buy some wallpaper."

Local spend has also increased due to the convenience of being close to other shops in the street.

It was back in 2001 when Ruthin Décor moved from a small shop in Clwyd Street to Lon Parcwr Industrial estate. After 10 years the store moved to its current Well Street location, creating three new part-time jobs.

Directors Nick Birch and Maureen Young are encouraged by the increase in business but do not want to become complacent, "The figures are better than we expected but we want to do more to improve the customer experience."