New branch well received, while DIY and gardening chain continues with plan to reach to 20 outlets by 2013.
Rightway opened the doors to its latest store in Frodsham, Cheshire on Wednesday. The store was well received by local customers and managing director David Clarke described the reaction on opening day as "fantastic".

The 3,000 sq ft store had a soft launch, only announcing its grand opening two days before, "with just an A4 sign in the window", said Mr Clarke. However, the Cheshire branch was buzzing on the day, with several customers completely unaware it was the store's first day of trading.

"Some people asked, 'how long have you been here?'. They didn't realise we'd just opened that day," laughed Mr Clarke.

The independent DIY chain is also geared up for further expansion, with plans to open another three stores, taking Rightway's total number of outlets to 20. There are no dates set for openings at this stage but Mr Clarke said he would "be surprised if it hadn't happened by the time three years is up".

Rightway, which acquired W Bevans & Sons in November 2008, opened a store under the Bevans name in Flint in Wales earlier this year. While in keeping with the retailer's timetable for expansion, Mr Clarke explained that the firm doesn't want to rush further openings to reach its target of 20 and will instead, be making considered decisions when the time is right.

"We've opened two shops this year and want to make sure that everything is going okay with those before we open any more. There are quite a few new people in the business now, with the new shops, so we want to make sure they're trained and settled in." He added: "We probably won't look at new sites until the middle of next year - we're not going to rush in."